Comparison of endothelial cell phenotypic markers of late-outgrowth endothelial progenitor cells isolated from patients with coronary artery disease and healthy volunteers.
The lack of easily isolated autologous endothelial cell (EC) sources is one of the major challenges with vascular tissue engineering interventions. This article examines the isolation and expansion of late-outgrowth endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from 50-mL samples of peripheral blood drawn from patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) and healthy young adult volunteers. In cases in which late-outgrowth EPCs were successfully isolated, the cells were assayed in vitro for their expression of EC markers, proliferation potential and ability to endothelialize synthetic materials, form new blood vessels, and produce nitric oxide. Late-outgrowth EPCs from patients with CAD and healthy volunteers exhibited critical EC markers and morphological characteristics that were analogous to a control population of human aortic ECs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the suitability of late-outgrowth EPCs from patients with CAD for autologous endothelialization applications.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
John D
JD
Stroncek
Bryan S
BS
Grant
Melissa A
MA
Brown
Thomas J
TJ
Povsic
George A
GA
Truskey
William M
WM
Reichert
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D010641:Phenotype; D012016:Reference Values; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D015415:Biomarkers