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Review
. 2011 Dec;5(6):731-44.
doi: 10.2217/bmm.11.92.

Endothelial progenitor cells in cardiovascular disease and chronic inflammation: from biomarker to therapeutic agent

Johannes C Grisar  1 , Francois Haddad, Fatemeh A Gomari, Joseph C Wu
Affiliations
Review

Endothelial progenitor cells in cardiovascular disease and chronic inflammation: from biomarker to therapeutic agent

Johannes C Grisar et al. Biomark Med. 2011 Dec.

Abstract

The discovery of endothelial progenitor cells in the 1990s challenged the paradigm of angiogenesis by showing that cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells are capable of forming new blood vessels even in the absence of a pre-existing vessel network, a process termed vasculogenesis. Since then, the majority of studies in the field have found a strong association between circulating endothelial progenitor cells and cardiovascular risk. Several studies have also reported that inflammation influences the mobilization and differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells. In this review, we discuss the emerging role of endothelial progenitor cells as biomarkers of cardiovascular disease as well as the interplay between inflammation and endothelial progenitor cell biology. We will also review the challenges in the field of endothelial progenitor cell-based therapy.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Endothelial progenitor cells in acute ischemia and chronic inflammation
Acute vascular events lead to a mobilization of EPCs from the bone marrow and an enhancement in the peripheral blood by a variety of factors, including TNF, IL-6 and CRP for contribution in vascular repair. Persistent systemic inflammation, however, is believed to reduce mobilization of EPCs from the bone marrow, reducing their quantities within the circulation. In addition, EPCs have been found to accumulate in chronically inflamed tissue, perpetuating vasculogenesis and further decreasing the peripheral EPC levels. Therefore, the quantities of EPCs taking part in vascular repair might be limited via this mechanism in chronic inflammatory diseases. CRP: C-reactive protein; EPC: Endothelial progenitor cell.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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