AIM OF THE STUDY
In recent years, endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) have been demonstrated to play an important role during tissue vascularization and endothelium homeostasis in adults. In addition, EPC have been implicated in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, such that a decreased number or function of EPC may not only be a risk indicator but also a potential therapeutic target.
Many agents that have been examined to increase EPC and enhance their function, but only recently some sphingolipids, are becoming intriguing.
Accumulated evidence has demonstrated that sphingolipids mediates pro-angiogenic activities, such as endothelial cell proliferation, chemotaxis, and vessel morphogenesis and its actions are mediated by the G-protein-coupled receptors of the endothelial differentiation gene (EDG) family.
The physiological and pathophysiological actions of sphingolipids in the regulation of human endothelial progenitors cells is still to be fully realized. So, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the expression of S1P receptors on human EPC, isolated from mononuclear cells of peripheral blood, then to provide experimental evidence that S1P treatment induces pro-angiogenic signalling on EPC.
