6533b7d8fe1ef96bd1269b49

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Are Endothelial Progenitor Cells the Real Solution for Cardiovascular Diseases? Focus on Controversies and Perspectives

Giovanni RuvoloGiuseppe MazzesiDomenico LioCalogera PisanoCarmela Rita BalistreriSilvio Buffa

subject

Pathologymedicine.medical_specialtyNeovascularization Physiologiclcsh:MedicineBone Marrow CellsReview ArticleRegenerative MedicineRegenerative medicineGeneral Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular BiologymedicineHumansSettore MED/05 - Patologia ClinicaCardiovascular diseases• regenerative medicine• endothelial progenitor cells• urgent standardization of EPC definition and characterization with precise criteriaProgenitor cellEndothelial Progenitor CellsConfusionGeneral Immunology and Microbiologybusiness.industrylcsh:RSettore MED/23 - Chirurgia CardiacaGeneral MedicineFocus (linguistics)Cardiovascular DiseasesEndothelium VascularVascular pathologymedicine.symptombusinessStem cell biologyNeuroscienceStem Cell Transplantation

description

Advanced knowledge in the field of stem cell biology and their ability to provide a cue for counteracting several diseases are leading numerous researchers to focus their attention on “regenerative medicine” as possible solutions for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the lack of consistent evidence in this arena has hampered the clinical application. The same condition affects the research on endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), creating more confusion than comprehension. In this review, this aspect is discussed with particular emphasis. In particular, we describe biology and physiology of EPCs, outline their clinical relevance as both new predictive, diagnostic, and prognostic CVD biomarkers and therapeutic agents, discuss advantages, disadvantages, and conflicting data about their use as possible solutions for vascular impairment and clinical applications, and finally underline a very crucial aspect of EPCs “characterization and definition,” which seems to be the real cause of large heterogeneity existing in literature data on this topic.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2015-03-19
http://hdl.handle.net/10447/144820