Endothelial Progenitor Cells: Therapeutic Perspective for Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

SUMMARY Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which can be cultured in vitro from mononuclear cells in peripheral blood or bone marrow, express both hematopoietic stem cell and endothelial cell markers on their surface. They are believed to participate in endothelial repair and postnatal angiogenesis due to their abilities of differentiating into endothelial cells and secreting protective cytokines and growth factors. Mounting evidence suggests that circulating EPCs are reduced and dysfunctional in various diseases including hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke. Therefore, EPCs have been documented to be a potential biomarker for vascular diseases and a hopeful candidate for regenerative medicine. Ischemic stroke as the major cause of disability and death still has limited therapeutics based on the approaches of vascular recanalization or neuronal protection. Emerging evidence indicates that transplantation of EPCs is beneficial for the recovery of ischemic cerebral injury. EPC-based therapy could open a new avenue for ischemic cerebrovascular disease. Currently, clinical trials for evaluating EPC transfusion in treating ischemic stroke are underway. In this review, we summarize the general conceptions and the characteristics of EPCs, and highlight the recent research developments on EPCs. More importantly, the rationale, perspectives and strategies for using them to treat ischemic stroke will be discussed.

The expression of P2X7receptors in EPCs and their potential role in the targeting of EPCs to brain gliomas

“…35 Stromal derived factor 1a (SDF-1a/ CXCL12)/CXCR4 has been extensively illustrated in the recruitment and homing of EPCs to contribute to neovascularization of tumor or ischemic tissue. [39][40][41] Besides, other subtypes of CXC chemokines, such as CXCL1 and CXCL2, also show their important roles in EPCs recruitment. As previous studies have been revealed that CXCL1/ CXCR2 takes an important place in the recruitment of EPCs to the sites of artery injury and lung diseases, we speculated that CXCL1 may also contribute to EPCs homing to gliomas.…”

Preventive Cold Acclimation Augments the Reparative Function of Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Mice

“…In addition, EPCs can secret various angiogenic growth factors to promote angiogenesis [5, 6]. Thus, local angiogenesis in the ischemic brain was assessed at 3 days after cerebral ischemia (Fig.…”

“…Chronic cold exposure can recruit BAT, increase energy expenditure, and thereby contribute to body fat reduction in humans [1, 2]. Moreover, energy metabolism disorders (e.g., obesity, diabetes) are associated with the impairment of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and EPC-mediated ischemic angiogenesis; thus, they are important risk factors of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases including stroke [3-5]. EPCs, a circulating bone marrow (BM)– derived cell population that participates in vasculogenesis and vascular homeostasis, have been used to successfully improve functional recovery of ischemic organs (including the brain) after ischemic injury [4-6].…”

Implantation of Brain-derived Extracellular Matrix Enhances Neurological Recovery after Traumatic Brain Injury

“…Although transplantation of neural stem/progenitor cells promotes neural regeneration after brain injury, the survival and functional integration of transplanted cells is severely limited, and a large tissue cavity remains within the injury site. [37][38][39] Combination of ECM with other treatments, for example, transplantation of NSCs, may boost the beneficial effects of either treatment alone. Our previous study demonstrated that transplantation of UBM carrying NSCs significantly reduced TBI lesion and improved long-term sensorimotor and cognitive deficits.…”