Abstract

Endothelial Progenitor Cells play important functions in post natal vasculogenesis, specifically in the repair and angiogenesis of damaged tissue, however, both in vitro studies and studies in diabetic patients have shown that high glucose condition alters their potential for vascular repair in damaged tissue.In this research work, mononuclear cells from healthy donors were cultured and differentiated to Endothelial Progenitor Cells, evidenced through changes in expression of cell surface markersOct-4, CD34+ characteristics of immature cell and CD31+ andKDR which are endothelial cell markers. Cell viability assays showed that the Endothelial Progenitor Cells are able to survive in high concentrations of D-glucose (20 mM) without affecting their immunophenotype, however, overall DNA methylation was significantly reduced in stem cells cultured in high glucose media compared to control cells. This phenomenon may be involved in the loss of angiogenic functions of Endothelial Progenitors Cells in diabetic patients. Studies using changes in gene expression could help to explain the alteration in vascular repair mechanisms observed in patients with permanent hyperglycemia