Endothelial progenitor cells in cardiovascular diseases: from biomarker to therapeutic agent

Regenerative medicine techniques to recover cardiac and vascular function are being increasingly investigated as management strategies for cardiovascular diseases. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) derived from bone marrow are immature cells capable of differentiating into mature endothelial cells and play a role in vascular reparative processes and neoangiogenesis. The potency of EPCs for cardiovascular regeneration has been demonstrated in many preclinical studies and therapeutic utility of EPCs has been evaluated in early-phase clinical trials. However, the regenerative activity and efficiency of the differentiation of EPCs are still limited, and a directed differentiation method for EPCs cells has not been fully demonstrated. In this review, we introduce the role of circulating EPCs as biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases and medical applications of EPCs for cardiovascular regeneration.