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Objective— Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in the self-healing of a vascular injury by participating in the reendothelialization that limits vascular remodeling. We evaluated whether prostaglandin I₂ plays a role in the regulation of the function of EPCs to limit vascular remodeling.

Methods and Results— EPCs (Lin⁻cKit⁺Flk-1⁺ cells) were isolated from the bone marrow (BM) of wild-type (WT) mice or mice lacking the prostaglandin I₂ receptor IP (IP^−/− mice). Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that EPCs among BM cells specifically express IP. The cellular properties of EPCs, adhesion, migration, and proliferation on fibronectin were significantly attenuated in IP-deficient EPCs compared with WT EPCs. In contrast, IP agonists facilitated these functions in WT EPCs, but not in IP-deficient EPCs. The specific deletion of IP in BM cells, which was performed by …