Endurance training increases the number of endothelial progenitor cells in patients with cardiovascular risk and coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVE: As regular physical exercise improves endothelial dysfunction and promotes cardiovascular health, we investigated the effect of training on angiogenesis by measuring the number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), the level of EPC-mobilizing growth factors and tested vascular function by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF). In addition, degradation products of the NO pathway (NOx) were determined. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty patients with documented CAD and/or CVRF joined a 12-week supervised running training. Circulating EPCs--defined by the surface markers CD34, KDR and CD133--were measured at baseline and after exercise training by flow cytometry. We found a significant increase in circulating EPCs (2.9+/-0.4-fold increase; P < .0001), which was positively correlated with both, the change of FMD (r = .81, P < .001) and the increase of NOx synthesis (r = .83, P < .001). Plasma VEGF and erythropoietin did not change in response to exercise. However, we observed a positive correlation between the number of EPCs and erythropoietin at baseline (r = .70, P < .01) and after training (r = .73, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Regular exercise training augments the number of circulating EPCs in patients with CVRF and CAD and is associated with improved vascular function and NO synthesis.