Regular exercise training increases the number of endothelial progenitor cells and decreases homocysteine levels in healthy peripheral blood.
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.
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Jeong Kyu
JK
Choi
Department of Surgery, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Ki Myung
KM
Moon
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Seok Yun
SY
Jung
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Ji Yong
JY
Kim
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Sung Hyun
SH
Choi
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Da Yeon
DY
Kim
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Songhwa
S
Kang
Department of Surgery, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Chong Woo
CW
Chu
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea. ; Department of Surgery, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea. ; Immunoregulatory Therapeutics Group in Brain Busan 21 Project, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Korea.
Sang Mo
SM
Kwon
EPC, Exercise; Endothelial progenitor cells; Homocysteine; Regular exercise training