Repertoire of endothelial progenitor cells mobilized by femoral artery ligation: a nonhuman primate study

To determine in the baboon model the identities and functional characteristics of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) mobilized in response to artery ligation, we collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) before and 3 days after a segment of femoral artery was removed. Our goal was to find EPC subpopulations with highly regenerative capacity. We identified 12 subpopulations of putative EPCs that were altered >1.75-fold; two subpopulations (CD146+/CD54-/CD45- at 6.63-fold, and CD146+/UEA-1-/CD45- at 12.21-fold) were dramatically elevated. To investigate the regenerative capacity of putative EPCs, we devised a new assay that maximally resembled their in vivo scenario, we purified CD34+ and CD146+ cells and co-cultured them with basal and mobilized PBMNCs; both cell types took up Dil-LDL, but purified CD146+ cells exhibited accelerated differentiation by increasing expression of CD31 and CD144, and by exhibiting more active cord-like structure formation by comparison to the CD34+ subpopulation in a co-culture with mobilized PBMNCs. We demonstrate that ischaemia due to vascular ligation mobilizes multiple types of cells with distinct roles. Baboon CD146+ cells exhibit higher reparative capacity than CD34+ cells, and thus are a potential source for therapeutic application.