Therapeutic angiogenesis: cellular approach from bone marrow, cord blood and peripheral blood

摘要

Adult peripheral blood, umbilical cord (placental) blood and bone marrow contain endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) that participate in neovascularization, consistent with postnatal vasculogenesis. Cultured EPCs participated in endothelial network formation (capillary formation) with HUVEC, and transplanted EPCs were incorporated into sites of neovascularization in vivo For example, transplanted human EPCs formed capillaries among preserved skeletal myocytes in the ischemic hindlimb of athymic nude rats. Furthermore, transplantation of EPCs functionally augmented neovascularization in response to hindlimb ischemia. Thus, transplantation of EPCs may become a useful strategy to modulate postnatal neovascularization.