Endothelial progenitor cells: what use for the cardiologist?

doi:10.1186/2040-2384-2-6

Journal of Angiogenesis Research

Volume 2

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Shantsila E
Lip GY
Varma C

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Review

Endothelial progenitor cells: what use for the cardiologist?

Aurangzeb Siddique¹^* , Eduard Shantsila¹^* , Gregory YH Lip¹ and Chetan Varma²

¹Haemostasis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Unit, University of Birmingham Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK

²Department of Cardiology, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

Journal of Angiogenesis Research 2010, 2:6doi:10.1186/2040-2384-2-6


Published:	22 February 2010

Abstract

Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPC) were first described in 1997 and have since been the subject of numerous investigative studies exploring the potential of these cells in the process of cardiovascular damage and repair. Whilst their exact definition and mechanism of action remains unclear, they are directly influenced by different cardiovascular risk factors and have a definite role to play in defining cardiovascular risk. Furthermore, EPCs may have important therapeutic implications and further understanding of their pathophysiology has enabled us to explore new possibilities in the management of cardiovascular disease. This review article aims to provide an overview of the vast literature on EPCs in relation to clinical cardiology.