Chipping away at the surface of the endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) mystery.
Chipping away at the surface of the endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) mystery.
复制标题
揭开内皮祖细胞 (EPC) 之谜的表面。
DOI：
10.1007/s00109-011-0799-2
复制
发表时间：
2011
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Rehman,Jalees
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Rehman,Jalees
Ever since Asahara et al. published their seminal report describing “putative progenitor endothelial cells” in 1997 [1], the idea of circulating cells that can replenish dysfunctional endothelium and promote angiogenesis has captured the imagination of cardiovascular researchers. In the following years, these cells were widely referred to as“endothelial progenitor cells” or “EPCs,” and the adjective“putative” that the authors had astutely used in the initial report was dropped. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies were subsequently conducted to elucidate the role of these cells in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and to investigate their therapeutic potential. This resulted in roughly 1,000 publications using the expression “endothelial progenitor cells” within a decade of the initial 1997 publication, and by now, this number has grown to over 2,500. Most studies have found that the number of circulating EPCs is reduced in patients with known cardiovascular risk factors or established cardiovascular disease. This has led to the notion that circulating EPCs may be required to maintain a healthy vasculature. For certain forms of vascular disease, however, both increased as well as reduced levels of circulating EPCs in patients have been reported when compared to control subjects. In the case of pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), some studies have shown increased levels of circulating EPCs [2, 3] and pointed out that these increased EPC numbers may reflect an ongoing injury response or increased vascular remodeling that is seen inPAH. A different study, on the other hand, demonstrated that circulating EPC levels are lower in patients with PAH [4] and may be an indicator of endothelial dysfunction that is observed in PAH. Such discordant findings are most likely due to the fact that the definition of what constitutes “EPCs” varies substantially in the mentioned PAH studies [5].
