Endothelial progenitor cells in cardiovascular diseases

Table 5 Effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) on endothelial progenitor cells

Ref.	Subjects	Drugs	Duration	EPCs (number/function)	Findings
Vasa et al[46]	15 CAD	Atorvastatin (40 mg/d)	4 wk	CD34+/KDR+ (flow cytometry) Migratory activity	CD34+/KDR+ was significantly increased after 4 wk of therapy Migration activity was also significantly improved after 4 wk of treatment
Leone et al[47]	40 STEMI	Atorvastatin (80 mg/d) vs Atorvastatin (20 mg/d)	16 wk	CD34+/KDR+ (flow cytometry)	Patients who took 80 mg of atorvastatin had higher CD34+/KDR+ than those who took 20 mg atorvastatin
Spadaccio et al[48]	50 CAD	Atorvastatin (20 mg/d) vs Placebo	3 wk	CD34+/CD133+ (flow cytometry)	Atorvastatin has significantly elevated EPC count after 3 wk
Erbs et al[49]	42 CHF	Rosuvastatin (40 mg/d) vs Placebo	12 wk	CD34+/KDR+ (flow cytometry)	Rosuvastatin significantly increased EPC count compared to placebo
Tousoulis et al[50]	60 SHF	Rosuvastatin (10 mg/d) vs Allopurinol (300 mg/d)	4 wk	CD34+/KDR+, CD34+/CD133+/KDR+ (flow cytometry)	CD34+/KDR+ and CD34+/CD133+/KDR+ are improved with rosuvastatin treatment compared to allopurinol
Huang et al[51]	100 healthy controls 100 ICM	Atorvastatin (10 mg/d) vs Atorvastatin (40 mg/d)	1 yr	CD34+ (flow cytometry)	CD34+ count was significantly elevated in patients under 40 mg atorvastatin after 1 yr
Paradisi et al[52]	20 healthy controls	Pravastatin (40 mg/d) vs Placebo	8 wk	CFU Tubule formation assay	CFU was increased by 31% in pravastatin group compared to placebo No difference was observed for tubule formation assay between groups
Hristov et al[53]	209 CAD (without statin, n = 65, statin 10/20 mg/d, n = 101, statin 40 mg/d, n = 43)	Statin (10/20 mg/d) or 40 mg/d vs Untreated	8 wk	CFU CD34+/KDR+ (flow cytometry)	40 mg/d of statin treatment has significantly decreased EPC numbers Continuous statin therapy inversely correlated with EPC numbers

CAD: Coronary artery disease; CFU: Colony forming unit; CHF: Congestive heart failure; EPC: Endothelial progenitor cells; ICM: Ischemic cardiomyopathy; SHF: Systolic heart failure; STEMI: ST-elevated myocardial infarction.