Impairment of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in patients with glucocorticoid-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head and changes of EPCs after glucocorticoid treatment in vitro.

Background: Avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) is a severe complication after high-dose glucocorticoid (GC) administration. The pathogenesis of GC-induced ANFH remains unclear. Though the important role of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the progression of GC-induced ANFH has been noticed, the effects of GCs on EPCs and the underlying mechanism still need further study.

Methods: Circulating EPCs were obtained from the peripheral blood of ANFH patients and healthy controls by Ficoll-density gradient centrifugation. CD133CD34 cells with DiI-Ac-LDL uptake and FITC-UEA-1 binding were considered as EPCs. Number and functions of EPCs were analyzed by flow cytometry, chemotaxis assay, and tube formation assay. EPCs from healthy controls were also treated by different concentrations of methylprednisolone and prednisolone in vitro, and cell growth and angiogenic function were evaluated. Expression of CXCR7 and its downstream Akt/GSK-3β/Fyn pathway were also analyzed by western blots after cells treated by methylprednisolone in vitro.

Results: The number and functions of EPCs in patients with GC-induced ANFH were significantly decreased. In vitro study showed for the first time that except extremely high concentrations, low to medium concentrations of GCs did not have significant effects on EPCs' growth. Methylprednisolone and prednisolone both inhibited angiogenesis of EPCs even at low concentrations. Mechanism studies found CXCR7 was downregulated in EPCs after methylprednisolone treatment in vitro. Expression and phosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3β were also decreased with an upregulation of Fyn expression after steroid treatment.

Conclusions: Our study showed that GC-induced ANFH patients have reduced the number and impaired functions of circulating EPCs. GCs did not show a significant effect on the growth of EPCs in vitro except extremely high concentrations of GCs. However, GCs significantly impaired EPC angiogenic function in vitro, even at low concentrations. Our study also suggested that downregulation of CXCR7 and its downstream Akt/GSK-3β/Fyn pathway in EPCs might be a novel mechanism of how GCs suppress EPCs' angiogenesis.