title: Endothelial Progenitor Cells as Shuttle of Anticancer Agents.
abstract: Cell therapies are treatments in which stem or progenitor cells are stimulated to differentiate into specialized cells able to home to and repair damaged tissues. After their discovery, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) stimulated worldwide interest as possible vehicles to perform autologous cell therapy of tumors. Taking into account the tumor-homing properties of EPCs, two different approaches to control cancer progression have been pursued by combining cell-based therapy with gene therapy or with nanomedicine. The first approach is based on the possibility of engineering EPCs to express different transgenes, and the second is based on the capacity of EPCs to take up nanomaterials. Here we review the most important progress covering the following issues: the characterization of bona fide endothelial progenitor cells, their role in tumor vascularization and metastasis, and preclinical data about their use in cell-based tumor therapy, considering antiangiogenic, suicide, immune-stimulating, and oncolytic virus gene therapy. The mixed approach of EPC cell therapy and nanomedicine is discussed in terms of plasmonic-dependent thermoablation and molecular imaging.
authors: 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence , Florence, Italy.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Laurenzana
authors: 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence , Florence, Italy.
authors: Francesca
authors: F
authors: Margheri
authors: 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence , Florence, Italy.
authors: Anastasia
authors: A
authors: Chillà
authors: 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence , Florence, Italy.
authors: Alessio
authors: A
authors: Biagioni
authors: 2 Institute for Complex Systems , National Research Council, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
authors: Giancarlo
authors: G
authors: Margheri
authors: 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence , Florence, Italy.|3 Center of Excellence for the Study at Molecular and Clinical Levels of Chronic, Degenerative, and Neoplastic Diseases to Develop Novel Therapies (DENOTHE) , Florence, Italy .
authors: Lido
authors: L
authors: Calorini
authors: 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence , Florence, Italy.
authors: Gabriella
authors: G
authors: Fibbi
authors: 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence , Florence, Italy.|3 Center of Excellence for the Study at Molecular and Clinical Levels of Chronic, Degenerative, and Neoplastic Diseases to Develop Novel Therapies (DENOTHE) , Florence, Italy .
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Del Rosso
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D066026:Endothelial Progenitor Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000637:transplantation*; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D050504:Oncolytic Viruses / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers