[Alterations of peripheral blood endothelial progenitor cells from patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction after snake venom fibrinolytic enzyme therapy].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the morphological and quantitative alterations of peripheral blood endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after snake venom fibrinolytic enzyme therapy.

METHODS

Sixty patients with STEMI and 20 control patients free of STEMI were enrolled in this study. The mononuclear cells were isolated from the peripheral blood of the STEMI patients before and 3 and 7 days after fibrinolytic enzyme injection. The isolated cells were cultured in RPMI1640 medium supplemented with vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF165) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The EPCs were characterized as adherent cells of positive for both DiL-acLDL and FITC-UEA-I by direct fluorescent staining. The cell morphology was observed and the number of the colony-forming units (CFU) was determined by phase-contrast microscope.

RESULTS

The number of the EPCs increased obviously in patients with STEMI 3 days after fibrinolytic enzyme injection, and reduced 7 days after the injection but remained greater than that in the control group. The injection of fibrinolytic enzyme did not result obvious changes in the number of CFU in the patients with STEMI.

CONCLUSION

Snake venom fibrinolytic enzyme injection can increase the peripheral blood EPCs in patients with STEMI.