Effect of rosuvastatin on endothelial progenitor cells in peripheral blood of patients with coronary heart disease

Objective To study the lipid-regulating function of rosuvastatin by observing its effect on endothelial prognostic cells（EPC） marked by CD34⁺ and vascular endothelial growth factor-2⁺（VEGFR-2⁺） in peripheral blood of patients with coronary heart disease（CHD）. Methods One hundred and twelve patients with CHD diagnosed by percutaneous coronary angiography were divided into single-vessel lesion group（n=37）,double-vessel lesion group（n=36） and triple-vessel lesion group（n=39）.The patients were treated with 10mg rosuvastatin calcium,once a night.The number of EPC marked with CD34⁺ and VEGFR-2⁺ was detected by flow cytometry 1 month before and after treatment. Results The TC and LDL-CH levels were significantly lower 1 month after treatment than before treatment（P＜0.001）.The TG level was lower after treatment than before treatment（P＜0.05）,but no significant difference was observed in HDL-CH level（P＞0.05）.The number of EPC marked with CD34⁺ and VEGFR-2⁺ decreased gradually with the aggravation of CHD（P＜0.05） and was significantly higher in CHD patients after treatment than before treatment（P＜0.05）. Conclusion Rosuvastatin can increase the number of EPC in peripheral blood of CHD patients,besides its good lipid-regulating function,thus slowing down the coronary atherosclerotic process.