IGF-1 receptor dependent effect of human insulin on the outgrowth of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in patients with diabetes type 2

Introduction: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) were shown to be involved in vascular regeneration and angiogenesis in experimental diabetes. EPC of patients with both diabetes type 1 and type 2 demonstrate impaired outgrowth and function. In previous studies it was shown, that insulin increases in vitro proliferation of EPC isolated from healthy volunteers. Since clinical studies indicate that insulin therapy enhances the number of circulating CD34+/CD133+ cells in type 2 diabetes patients, we studied effects of human insulin on in vitro outgrowth of EPC isolated from type 2 diabetes patients and receptors med…