Janic Branislava, Arbab Ali S
Cellular and Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA.
ScientificWorldJournal. 2010 Jun 15;10:1088-99. doi: 10.1100/tsw.2010.100.
Although the cellular and molecular mechanisms of tumor growth and metastasis are not completely understood, it is established that formation and growth of new blood vessels is a conditio sine qua non for tumor survival, growth, and expansion. Numerous studies over the past decades demonstrated that neovascularization associated with tumor growth occurs via angiogenic and vasculogenic mechanisms that involve sprouting angiogenesis, intussusceptive angiogenesis, vessel co-option, vasculogenic mimicry, lymphangiogenesis, and the recruitment of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Due to their ability to self-renew, circulate, home to the ischemic sites, and differentiate into mature endothelial cells, EPCs hold enormous potential to be used as a diagnostic and/or therapeutic agent in antitumor therapies. Hence, this review focuses on EPCs and their role in tumor angiogenesis with the emphasis on EPC recruitment/migration, and the potential use of EPCs as a therapeutic tool and imaging probe.
尽管肿瘤生长和转移的细胞及分子机制尚未完全明确，但新血管的形成与生长是肿瘤存活、生长及扩散的必要条件，这一点已得到确认。过去几十年的大量研究表明，与肿瘤生长相关的新血管形成是通过血管生成和血管发生机制实现的，这些机制包括芽生血管生成、套叠式血管生成、血管共选、血管生成拟态、淋巴管生成以及内皮祖细胞（EPCs）的募集。由于EPCs具有自我更新、循环、归巢至缺血部位并分化为成熟内皮细胞的能力，它们在抗肿瘤治疗中作为诊断和/或治疗剂具有巨大潜力。因此，本综述聚焦于EPCs及其在肿瘤血管生成中的作用，重点关注EPCs的募集/迁移以及EPCs作为治疗工具和成像探针的潜在用途。
