Isolation and characterization of endothelial progenitor cells from mice bone marrow and analysis of these cells differentiation in different culture mediuns in the presence or absence or dermatan sulfate

• Grant number: 09/07958-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2009
• End date: June 30, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Cytology and Cell Biology
• Principal Investigator: Cristina Pontes Vicente
• Grantee: Patricia da Silva Dias
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) were first identified in 1997 by Asahara et al., these cells were obtained from bone marrow and are derived from hemangioblasts. They have high cloning ability and are very proliferative in cell culture, being considered the main cell source to the formation of new vessels in adult life. In vivo experiments showed that transfusion of these cells can ameliorate vascularization and reendothelization in mice and rat with ischemic members decreasing neointima formation, It is still unknown what factors promote migration, adhesion, and differentiation of these cells to the site of injury. Some data suggest that dermatan sulfate may be one of the main agent responsable for the atraction of these cells, to the site of lesion. Dermatan sulfate is located mainly in adventicia of the vessel and interacts with heparin cofator II (HCII) after endothelial lesion. It is considered to be the main glycosaminoglycan liberated after skin lesions and the only one able to activate expression of I-CAM in the surface of endothelial cells in vitro. This work propose to isolate and characterize endothelial progenitor cells from mice bone marrow and analyze their proliferation and differentiation en different cell culture mediums containing or not dermatan sulfate. This way we plan to establish an EPC culture able to be utilized in cellular therapy and also determine the whole of dermatan sulfate in these cells proliferation and differentiation. (AU)