title: Aging, progenitor cell exhaustion, and atherosclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atherosclerosis is largely attributed to chronic vascular injury, as occurs with excess cholesterol; however, the effect of concomitant vascular aging remains unexplained. We hypothesize that the effect of time in atherosclerosis progression is related to obsolescence of endogenous progenitor cells that normally repair and rejuvenate the arteries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here we show that chronic treatment with bone marrow-derived progenitor cells from young nonatherosclerotic ApoE-/- mice prevents atherosclerosis progression in ApoE-/- recipients despite persistent hypercholesterolemia. In contrast, treatment with bone marrow cells from older ApoE-/- mice with atherosclerosis is much less effective. Cells with vascular progenitor potential are decreased in the bone marrow of aging ApoE-/- mice, but cells injected from donor mice engraft on recipient arteries in areas at risk for atherosclerotic injury.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data indicate that progressive progenitor cell deficits may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3845, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Rauscher
authors.forename: Pascal J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Goldschmidt-Clermont
authors.forename: Bryce H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gregg
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramaswami
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pippen
authors.forename: Brian H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Annex
authors.forename: Chunming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Doris A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000473:pathology; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002452:Cell Count; D004041:Dietary Fats; D018450:Disease Progression; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006085:Graft Survival; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000235:genetics; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012307:Risk Factors; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D004041:Dietary Fats; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens