Beneficial Effects of Astragaloside IV-Treated and 3-Dimensional-Cultured Endothelial Progenitor Cells on Angiogenesis and Wound Healing.

Introduction Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) is a natural herb extract and a popular compound used in traditional Chinese medicine because of its effect on multiple biological processes, such as promotion of cell proliferation, improvement in cardiopulmonary and vascular function, and promotion of angiogenesis around wounds, leading to accelerated wound healing. Vascular regeneration primarily results from the differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Biomedical acceleration of angiogenesis and differentiation of EPCs around the wound remain challenging. Materials and methods In this study, we treated human umbilical cord blood-derived EPCs with AS-IV and cultured them on 2-dimensional (tissue culture polystyrene) and 3-dimensional culture plates (3DPs). These cultured cells were then combined with human blood plasma gel and applied on the skin of nude mice in an attempt to repair full-thickness skin defects. Results The results show that using 3DP culture could increase vascular-related gene expression in EPCs. Furthermore, 12.5 μg/mL AS-IV-treaded EPCs were combined with plasma gels (P-3DP-EPC12.5) and showed enhanced vascular-related protein expression levels after 3 days of culture. Finally, P-3DP-EPC12.5s were used to repair full-thickness skin defects in nude mice, and we could register a wound healing rate greater than 90% by day 14. Conclusions Based on these results, we concluded that we have developed a potential therapeutic approach for wound healing using plasma gel containing 3-dimensional surface-cultured AS-IV-treated EPCs.