Regular Exercise Training Increases the Number of Endothelial Progenitor Cells and Decreases Homocysteine Levels in Healthy Peripheral Blood.
10.4196/kjpp.2014.18.2.163
- Author:
Jeong Kyu CHOI
1
;
Ki Myung MOON
;
Seok Yun JUNG
;
Ji Yong KIM
;
Sung Hyun CHOI
;
Da Yeon KIM
;
Songhwa KANG
;
Chong Woo CHU
;
Sang Mo KWON
Author Information
1. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea. smkwon323@pusan.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Endothelial progenitor cells;
EPC, Exercise;
Homocysteine;
Regular exercise training
- MeSH:
Blood Vessels;
Cardiovascular Diseases;
Education;
Homocysteine*;
Humans;
Male;
Plasma;
Stem Cells*
- From:The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
2014;18(2):163-168
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are known to play an important role in the repair of damaged blood vessels. We used an endothelial progenitor cell colony-forming assay (EPC-CFA) to determine whether EPC numbers could be increased in healthy individuals through regular exercise training. The number of functional EPCs obtained from human peripheral blood-derived AC133 stem cells was measured after a 28-day regular exercise training program. The number of total endothelial progenitor cell colony-forming units (EPC-CFU) was significantly increased compared to that in the control group (p=0.02, n=5). In addition, we observed a significant decrease in homocysteine levels followed by an increase in the number of EPC-CFUs (p=0.04, n=5), indicating that the 28-day regular exercise training could increase the number of EPC colonies and decrease homocysteine levels. Moreover, an inverse correlation was observed between small-endothelial progenitor cell colony-forming units (small-EPC-CFUs) and plasma homocysteine levels in healthy men (r=-0.8125, p=0.047). We found that regular exercise training could increase the number of EPC-CFUs and decrease homocysteine levels, thus decreasing the cardiovascular disease risk in men.
