The field of vascular biology has been stimulated by the concept that circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may play a role in neoangiogenesis (postnatal vasculogenesis). One problem for the field has been the difficulty in accurately defining an EPC. Likewise, circulating endothelial cells (CECs) are not well defined. The lack of a detailed understanding of the proliferative potential of EPCs and CECs has contributed to the controversy in identifying these cells and understanding their biology in vitro or in vivo. A novel paradigm using proliferative potential as one defining aspect of EPC biology suggests that a hierarchy of EPCs exists in human blood and blood vessels. The potential implications of this view in relation to current EPC definitions are discussed.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据