Therapeutic potential of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells for cardiovascular ischemic diseases

Abstract

Post-natal vasculogenesis has been considered to be involved in neovascularization of adult tissues, after bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were isolated from circulating mononuclear cells in peripheral blood and shown to incorporate into sites of physiological and pathological neovascularization and differentiate into mature endothelial cells (ECs). Following these findings, the various strategies to enhance neovascularization using EPCs have been researched, such as in vivo mobilization through exogenous administration of angiogenic factors, ex vivo culture expansion for cell transplantation or gene therapy. EPCs might have an attractive potential in therapeutic application for cardiovascular ischemic diseases as a novel cell strategy.