Endothelial progenitor cells in cardiovascular diseases

Table 4 Effect of antihypertensive medications on endothelial progenitor cells

Ref.	Subjects	Drugs	Duration	EPCs (number/function)	Findings
Angiotensin II receptor blockers
Yao et al[33]	42 SHR-SP rats	Losartan (10 mg/kg per day) vs Placebo	2 wk	CFU CD34+ (flow cytometry) Migratory activity	Losartan improved EPC number and function from SHR-SP rats compared to WKY rats
Yu et al[34]	18 SHR-SP rats	Candesartan (1 mg/kg per day) vs Tempol, Trichlormethiazide	2 wk	CFU	The highest CFU count was observed in candesartan treatment group
Yoshida et al[35]	12 SHR-SP rats	Valsartan (300 mg/L) vs Hydralazine	2 wk	CFU Migratory activity	Treatment with valsartan stimulated increase in CFU and migration activity in SHR-SP rats compared to hydralazine-treated rats
Honda et al[36]	15 healthy controls	Telmisartan (1 μmol/L) vs Valsartan	4 d	CFU Proliferation activity	CFU and EPC proliferative activity are significantly increased in cells treated with telmisartan in vitro
Pelliccia et al[37]	40 CAD	Telmisartan (80 mg/d) vs Placebo	4 wk	CD34+/CD45-/ KDR+ (flow cytometry)	CD34+/CD45-/KDR+ is significantly elevated in patients treated with telmisartan
Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors
Min et al[39]	20 CAD	Ramipril (5 mg/d) vs Placebo	4 wk	EPC number Migratory activity Proliferation activity Adhesion activity	There was 1.5 fold increase in EPC number after 1 wk of treatment Followed by 2.5 fold increase in EPC count after 4 wk Migration, proliferation and adhesion activities were also significantly improved with ramipril
Cacciatore et al[40]	36 HT	Enalapril (20 mg/d) vs Zofenopril (30 mg/d)	1 yr and 5 yr	CFU Migratory activity	Increased CFU count for both treatment groups at 1 yr and 5 yr No difference for migratory activity
Calcium channel blockers
Sugiura et al[43]	37 HT	Nifedipine (20 mg/d) vs Untreated	4 wk	CD34+/CD133+ (flow cytometry) Migratory activity	EPC number and function were significantly improved in the nifedipine group
de Ciuceis et al[44]	29 essential HT	Barnidipine (20 mg/d) vs Hydrochlorothiazide (25 mg/d)	3 and 6 mo	EPC number	EPC number was significantly elevated in patients treated with barnidipine compared to hydrochlorothiazide

CAD: Coronary artery disease; CFU: Colony forming unit; EPC: Endothelial progenitor cells; HT: Hypertension; SHR-SP: Spontaneous hypertensive rats-stroke prone; WKY: Wistar-Kyoto.