Clinical significance of 5-(and 6)-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester-labeled microspheres for detecting endothelial progenitor cells in human peripheral blood.

The aims of the present study were to establish a single-platform flow cytometry method using 5-(and 6)-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE)-labeled microspheres as the reference for determining endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) number and to evaluate the efficacy of this detection method. Single-platform flow cytometry was used to count cell numbers using CFSE-stained fluorescent microspheres as the internal reference and the EPC numbers in specimens using this novel method were compared with an in vitro clonogenic counting assay. The results of the two counting methods were consistent and compared with the in vitro clonogenic counting assay, the time and cost of the novel method was markedly reduced, as were the corresponding technical requirements. The present findings indicated that single-platform flow cytometry, with CFSE-labeled microspheres as the reference, provides faster and improved detection of EPCs in human peripheral blood specimens, with reduced time and cost, making it more suitable for routine clinical application.