Study of the Effect of the Microgravity on the Expression of Angiogenesis Marker in Endothelial Progenitor Cells

A study of the effect of microgravity on the endothelial progenitor cells is useful both in understanding cardiac changes in astronauts and in using microgravity as angiogenic stimuli. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of microgravity on VEGFR-2 and CD34 angiogenesis markers. Following extraction of progenitor cells from peripheral blood and its confirmation, gene expression was assessed by real-time PCR, and cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. The extracted cells were endothelial progenitor cells in terms of shape and surface markers CD31 and CD144. Microgravity increased the VEGFR-2 gene expression by 3.5 times after 24 hours. CD34 expression increased by 50% after 3 h but reached control level after 24 hours. Microgravity appears to have a positive effect on the expression of angiogenic markers and stimulation of endothelial progenitor cells, and it may be used as a new environment to differentiate these cells into blood vessels and to treat heart disease.