Open AccessEndothelial progenitor cells as a therapeutic option in intracerebral hemorrhage
Author(s) -
Juan Manuel PíasPeleteiro,
Francisco Campos,
José Castillo,
Tomás Sobrino
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
neural regeneration research/neural regeneration research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.93
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1876-7958
pISSN - 1673-5374
DOI - 10.4103/1673-5374.205085
Subject(s) - medicine , vasculogenesis , progenitor cell , intracerebral hemorrhage , angiogenesis , therapeutic angiogenesis , neovascularization , therapeutic effect , therapeutic approach , stroke (engine) , neuroscience , regeneration (biology) , bioinformatics , disease , intensive care medicine , stem cell , subarachnoid hemorrhage , psychology , mechanical engineering , genetics , engineering , biology , microbiology and biotechnology
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the most severe cerebrovascular disease, which represents a leading cause of death and disability in developed countries. However, therapeutic options are limited, so is mandatory to investigate repairing processes after stroke in order to develop new therapeutic strategies able to promote brain repair processes. Therapeutic angiogenesis and vasculogenesis hold promise to improve outcome of ICH patients. In this regard, circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have recently been suggested to be a marker of vascular risk and endothelial function. Moreover, EPC levels have been associated with good neurological and functional outcome as well as reduced residual hematoma volume in ICH patients. Finally, experimental and clinical studies indicate that EPC might mediate endothelial cell regeneration and neovascularization. Therefore, EPC-based therapy could be an excellent therapeutic option in ICH. In this mini-review, we discuss the present status of knowledge about the possible therapeutic role of EPCs in ICH, molecular mechanisms, and the future perspectives and strategies for their use in clinical practice.