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Review
. 2010 Feb;15(1):68-72.
doi: 10.1097/MOT.0b013e32833454b5.

Endothelial colony-forming cell role in neoangiogenesis and tissue repair

Paul J Critser  1 , Mervin C Yoder
Affiliations
Review

Endothelial colony-forming cell role in neoangiogenesis and tissue repair

Paul J Critser et al. Curr Opin Organ Transplant. 2010 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Patients suffering from vascular disease often have impaired angiogenic ability contributing to impaired tissue repair. One potential therapy is to deliver cells that can aid in angiogenesis. This review will discuss the ability of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which have been reported to contribute to neoangiogenesis in both physiological and pathological conditions, to contribute to neoangiogenesis in tissue repair.

Recent findings: In recent years, various reports have described conflicting roles for EPC in vessel formation. Currently there are three different assays for outgrowth of EPC all resulting in the isolation of different cell populations. This confusion is partially due to limited functional characterization of putative EPC populations. One population, endothelial colony-forming cell (ECFC), has been shown to possess all the characteristics of a true endothelial progenitor.

Summary: The review overviews the role of putative EPC populations in angiogenesis and tissue repair. Whereas all EPC populations have been shown to play a role in angiogenesis, only ECFC have demonstrated the ability to form de-novo blood vessels in vivo. Additionally ECFC have been shown to play a role in neovascularization in several preclinical rodent models suggesting that it may be an excellent cell source for treatment of patients with diminished vascular function.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. ECFCs but not CFU-Hill display the ability to form functional vessels in vivo
(A) Photomicrographs (original magnification, 20X) showing collagen fibronectin grafts with surrounding murine tissue after 28 days in NOD/SCID mice. Left and middle panels show consecutive sections of ECFC grafts stained with anti-murine CD31 (mCD31) and anti-human CD31 (hCD31). Right panel shows CFU-Hill seeded graft with anti hCD31 staining. (B) Photomicrographs (original magnification, 100X) showing hCD31 stained ECFC and CFU-Hill (far right) grafts after 28 days in vivo. ECFC for hCD31 positive vessels that contain murine RBCs (arrows) indicating that these vessels had inosculated with the host vasculature. CFU-Hill were unable to form functional vessels. Adapted from Yoder et al..
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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