Abstract:Aim To investigate the effect of soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitor (sEHi) 12-(3-adamantan-1-y1-ureido)-dodecanoic acid (AUDA) on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression of early endothelia1 progenitor cells in patients with carotid stenosis (CS). Methods Mononuclear cells from the peripheral blood of CS patients were isolated by ficoll density gradient centrifugation and cultured. After 7 days of culture in vitro, attached cells were collected. Early endothelia1 progenitor cells were identified by double staining and flow cytometry. Early endothelia1 progenitor cells were then stimulated by 0, 0.1, 1, 10 μmol/L of AUDA for 24 h. The expression of VEGF in early endothelia1 progenitor cells was measured by Western blot. Early endothelial progenitor cells from age and gender matched healthy subjects were also cultured as controls. Results The expression of VEGF in early endothelia1 progenitor cells from CS patients was obviously damaged compared with those from healthy controls. The AUDA could dose-dependently increase the expression of VEGF in early endothelia1 progenitor cells compared with those from CS patients without treatment. Conclusion It is suggested that sEHi can positively induce VEGF protein secretion via epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EET), and sEHi may become a new drug for the therapy of CS.