Journal of Stem Cell Research & Therapy

Abstract

From Endothelial Progenitor Cells to Tissue Engineering: How Far have we Come?

Barbara Salingova, Martina Madarasova, Stanislav Stejskal, Lenka Tesarova, Pavel Simara and Irena Koutna

Cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death in high income countries worldwide and the available treatment is not able to provide a complete recovery. Tissue engineering offers a possibility to construct autologous vein replacements for surgery. In this review we summarize approaches leading to artificial vascular graft construction. We discuss biomaterials currently in use, various drug delivery systems and the most appropriate cell cultures for vein engineering. Despite the progress in biomaterials and drug delivery systems, generating a suitable tissue microenvironment and selection of the appropriate cell population for graft seeding remains a major challenge. Here we focus on endothelial progenitor stem cells as the most suitable cell type for vascular graft construction. We discuss its sources, isolation techniques and differentiation procedures.