title: Contribution of endothelial progenitor cells to neovascularization (Review).
abstract: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are a cell population mobilized from             bone marrow into the peripheral circulation and recruited into sites of vessel             injury to participate in blood vessel formation in both physiological and pathological             conditions. Due to the lack of unique surface markers and different isolation             methods, EPCs represent heterogeneous cell populations including cells of myeloid             or endothelial origin. Evidence suggests that EPCs play a critical role in postnatal             blood vessel formation and vascular homeostasis and provide a promising therapy             for vascular disease. However, the mechanisms by which EPCs participate in new             vessel formation are still incompletely understood. We review the process of EPCs             in neovascularization including EPC mobilization, migration, adhesion and effect             on new vessel formation, in an attempt to better understand the underlying mechanisms             and to provide potential effective management for the treatment of patients with             vascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, PR China.
authors.forename: Da-Wei
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhi-Qiang
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lin-Sen
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*