title: Endothelial progenitor cells in cardiovascular disease and hypoxia--potential implications to obstructive sleep apnea.
abstract: In recent years, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have gained a central role in vascular regeneration and endothelial repair capacity through angiogenesis and restoring endothelial function of injured blood vessels. These bone-marrow-derived cells are capable of promoting neovascularization, improving blood perfusion, and facilitating the recovery of ischemic tissues through differentiation into functional endothelial cells and secretion of angiogenic mediators. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is characterized by recurrent episodes of intermittent hypoxia (IH), which can lead to endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis, as well as cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, IH also may contribute to cardioprotection and the development of collateral vessels by mobilizing progenitor cells to the circulation and damaged myocardium. Accumulating evidence in recent years suggests that EPCs are decreased in patients with endothelial dysfunction and underlie an increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity in OSA. The current review highlights the potential role of EPCs in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases that is pertinent to OSA.
authors.affiliation: Lloyd Rigler Sleep Apnea Research Laboratory, Unit of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Slava
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lavie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*