Isolarion,Culture and Identification of Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Peripheral Blood of Rabbits

Objective To investigate how to isolate,culture endothelial progenitor cells(EPCs)from peripheral blood of rabbits.Methods Thirty milliliter of blood was withdrawn from peripheral artery with mononuclear cells separated by density-gradient centrifugation.The cells were then maintained in culture flasks and further identified by immunofluorescence,immunocytochemistry,and vasculogenesis experiment.Results EPCs could be obtained from peripheral blood of rabbits,and stably expressing related antigens.EPCs could be assembled into primitive vascular tube-like structures when planted in matrigel.Conclusion EPCs can be obtained from rabbits' peripheral blood under a certain condition of isolation and cultivation.