Tβ4 contributes to survival and microvessels formation of endothelial progenitor cells via MAPK/ERK pathway

Abstract

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are involved in microvessels formation and can be used as a potential therapeutic option for cardiovascular repair and regeneration. However, the therapeutic efficiency affected by the survival and microvessels formation capacity of EPCs limits their clinical application. In this study, we assessed the facilitative effect of Thymosin Beta 4 (Tβ4) by examining the status of EPCs treated with different concentrations of Tβ4, and injected Tβ4-treated EPCs into the mouse myocardium to detect their effect. We found that the effect of Tβ4 on EPCs was dose-dependent and promoted EPCs proliferation, migration and microvessels formation in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the expression of (Mitogen-activated protein kinase, MAPK)/ (Extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2, ERK) signaling pathway-related factors was increased after Tβ4 treatment, whereas the promoting effect of Tβ4 was attenuated after treatment with a MAPK/ERK pathway inhibitor (PD98059). This study suggests that Tβ4 promotes survival and microvessels formation of EPCs via the ERK MAPK pathway, which could help explore therapeutic options for EPCs use in cardiovascular repair and regeneration.