title: Cellular plasticity: the good, the bad, and the ugly? Microenvironmental influences on progenitor cell therapy.
abstract: Progenitor cell based therapies have emerged for the treatment of ischemic cardiovascular diseases where there is insufficient endogenous repair. However, clinical success has been limited, which challenges the original premise that transplanted progenitor cells would orchestrate repair. In this review, we discuss the basics of endothelial progenitor cell therapy and describe how microenvironmental changes (i.e., trophic and mechano-structural factors) in the damaged myocardium influence progenitor cell plasticity and hamper beneficial therapeutic outcome. Further understanding of these microenvironmental clues will enable optimization of cell therapy at all levels. We discuss current concepts and provide future perspectives for the enhancement of progenitor cell therapy, and merge these advances into a combined approach for ischemic tissue repair.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan-Renier A J
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Moonen
authors.forename: Martin C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Harmsen
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Krenning
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D060833:Cellular Microenvironment; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000628:therapy; D033081:Shear Strength; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology