Cell therapies for therapeutic angiogenesis: back to the bench.
The discovery, over a decade ago, of endothelial progenitor cells that are able to participate in neovascularization of adult tissue has been greeted enthusiastically because of the potential for new cell-based therapies for therapeutic angiogenesis. Since that time, an ever-growing list of candidate cells has been proposed for cardiovascular regeneration. However, to date, pre-clinical and clinical studies evaluating the therapeutic potential of various cell therapies have reported conflicting results, generating controversy. Key issues within the field of cell therapy research include a lack of uniform cellular definitions, as well as inadequate functional characterization of the role of putative stem/progenitor cells in angiogenesis. Given the mixed results of initial clinical studies, there is now a scientific imperative to understand better the vascular biology of candidate cells in order to better translate cell therapy to the bedside. This review will provide a translationally relevant overview of the biology of candidate stem/progenitor cells for therapeutic angiogenesis.
Heart Research Institute and Department of Medicine, University of Sydney.
Daniel P
DP
Sieveking
Martin K C
MK
Ng
D000328:Adult; D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome