Endothelial progenitor cells and revascularization following stroke.
Brain injury after ischemia induces the mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), a population of bone marrow-derived cells with angio-vasculogenic capabilities. These cells have been also tested in pre-clinical models and proposed for neurorepair therapy aiming to treat patients in the delayed phases of stroke disease. Promising results in the pre-clinical field encourage the translation into a clinical therapeutic approach. In this review, we will describe EPCs actions for enhanced revascularization and neurorepair, which on one hand are by their direct incorporation into new vascular networks/structures or by direct cell-cell interactions with other brain cells, but also to indirect cell-cell communication thorough EPCs secreted growth factors. All these actions contribute to potentiate neurovascular remodeling and neurorepair. The data presented in this review encourages for a deep understanding of the mechanisms of the cross-talks between EPCs and other brain and progenitor cells, which deserves additional investigations and efforts that may lead to new EPCs-based therapies for stroke patients. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Cell Interactions In Stroke.
Neurovascular Research Laboratory and Neurology Department, Vall d׳Hebron Research Institute, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Passeig Vall d'Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Feifei
F
Ma
Neurovascular Research Laboratory and Neurology Department, Vall d׳Hebron Research Institute, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Passeig Vall d'Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Anna
A
Morancho
Neurovascular Research Laboratory and Neurology Department, Vall d׳Hebron Research Institute, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Passeig Vall d'Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Joan
J
Montaner
Neurovascular Research Laboratory and Neurology Department, Vall d׳Hebron Research Institute, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Passeig Vall d'Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: anna.rosell@vhir.org.
Anna
A
Rosell
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D066026:Endothelial Progenitor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*
Angiogenesis; Endothelial progenitor cell; Growth factor; Neurorepair; Stroke; Vasculogenesis