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Zhihui He, Yan Chen, Can Hou, Wenfang He, Ping Chen
(Department of Intensive Care Unit, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China (mainland))
Med Sci Monit 2017; 23:3224-3231
DOI: 10.12659/MSM.902746
BACKGROUND:
Endothelial dysfunction is an important pathophysiologic feature in many smoke-related diseases. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are the precursors of endothelial cells and play a fundamental role in the maintenance of endothelial integrity and function. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is the dominant NOS isoform in the vasculature and plays a central role in the maintenance of endothelial homeostasis. p16(INK4a) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor and could be regarded as a major dominant senescence gene. The present study aimed to determine whether the expression of eNOS and p16(INK4a) in EPCs is related to EPCs function and the possible epigenetic mechanism, if any.
MATERIAL AND METHODS:
We investigated EPCs capacity for proliferation, adhesion, and secretion, and the expression of eNOS and p16(INK4a) in EPCs which were altered by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) in vitro. Furthermore, Decitabine (Dec), an agent of demethylation, was used to examine whether it could alter the changes induced by CSE.
RESULTS:
The present study demonstrated that EPCs altered by CSE in vitro displayed decreased capacities of proliferation, adhesion, and secretion, which was accompanied by decreased eNOS expression and increased p16(INK4a) expression in EPCs. Furthermore, Dec could alleviate the changes in the expression of eNOS and p16(INK4a), and protect against the EPCs dysfunction caused by CSE.
CONCLUSIONS:
The decreased eNOS expression and increased p16(INK4a) expression was associated with dysfunction of EPCs caused by CSE. The mechanism of methylation, one of the most common epigenetic mechanism, may be involved in the EPCs dysfunction caused by CSE.