Endothelial dysfunction has been implicated in atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, and stroke. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), found in the bone marrow and peripheral blood as rare cell population, demonstrated a high proliferation and differentiation capacity. Understanding how such diseases influence the quantity and functionality of EPCs is essential for the development of novel therapies. This study aims to investigate the factors that affect the quantity and functionality of circulating EPCs in stroke patients and healthy controls. Blood samples were collected once from healthy donors (n = 30) and up to 3 times (within 7 days (baseline), 3 and 12 months post-stroke) from stroke patients (n = 207). EPC subpopulations were isolated with flow cytometry for characterization. The Matrigel tubular formation assay was performed as a measure of functionality. An increased amount of circulating EPCs was observed in stroke patients over 45 years when compared to age-matched healthy individuals. EPCs showed a rising trend in stroke patients over the 12-month post-stroke period, reaching statistical significance at 12 months post-stroke. Isolated CD34⁺KDR⁺ cells from stroke patients showed impairment in tubular formation capability when compared to cells from healthy donors. The quantity and vasculogenic function of circulating EPCs in peripheral blood have been effectively evaluated in stroke patients and healthy control donors in this study. Age and stroke are found to be 2 influencing factors on the angiogenic capacity. It is suggested that the increase in EPC number is triggered by the recovery response following ischemic stroke.

内皮功能障碍与动脉粥样硬化、缺血性心脏病和中风有关。内皮祖细胞（EPC）作为稀有细胞群存在于骨髓和外周血中，表现出高增殖和分化能力。了解此类疾病如何影响 EPC 的数量和功能对于开发新疗法至关重要。本研究旨在探讨影响中风患者和健康对照组循环 EPC 数量和功能的因素。从健康献血者 ( n = 30) 中采集一次血样，从中风患者 ( n = 207) 中采集最多 3 次血样（中风后 7 天（基线）内、中风后 3 个月和 12 个月内）。使用流式细胞术分离 EPC 亚群以进行表征。进行基质胶管状形成测定作为功能性的测量。与年龄匹配的健康个体相比，45 岁以上的中风患者的循环 EPC 数量有所增加。在中风后 12 个月内，中风患者的 EPC 显示出上升趋势，并在中风后 12 个月达到统计学显着性。与健康供体的细胞相比，中风患者分离的 CD34 ⁺ KDR ⁺细胞显示肾小管形成能力受损。本研究对中风患者和健康对照供体外周血中循环 EPC 的数量和血管生成功能进行了有效评估。年龄和中风被发现是血管生成能力的两个影响因素。这表明 EPC 数量的增加是由缺血性中风后的恢复反应触发的。