Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effect of rosuvastatin on the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of late endothelial progenitor cells(EPCs) from bone marrow of rats. Methods The late EPCs were cultured and characterized by DiLDLuptake and lectin binding. Then, we co-cultured the EPCs with culture medium containing rosuvastatin of different concentrations(0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, 10, 100 μmol/L), and tested the proliferation, migration and apoptosis; furthermore, we co-cultured EPCs with medium containing 0.1 μmol/L rosuvastatin for different hours(1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 h), and the functions including proliferation, migration and apoptosis were analyzed again. Results The early EPCs became long spindle on the seventh day, and then became cornerstone shape on the 28th day. Moreover, late EPCs can take in Dil-acLDL and FITC-UEA-I. After co-cultured with rosuvastatin of different concentrations, it was demonstrated that proliferation(P<0.05), migration(P<0.05) and apoptosis(P<0.05) were improved. Furthermore, compared with the control, the protection was highest when the rosuvastatin concentration was 0.1 μmol/L. It was also found that proliferation(P<0.05), migration(P<0.05) and apoptosis(P<0.05) of late EPCs were improved at the concentration of 0.1 μmol/L rosuvastatin, and the protection increased with time, but did not changed significantly after 24 hours. Conclusion This study demonstrated that rosuvastatin could improve the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of late EPCs from bone marrow in concentration- and time-dependent manner.

Key words: late endothelial progenitor cells, rosuvastatin, proliferation, migration, apoptosis