Children's Cancer Institute Australia, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2010 Dec;10(8):914-21. doi: 10.2174/156800910793358041.
The capacity to induce new blood vessel formation or to repair damaged vessels is an attractive idea that has, for a long time, captured the attention and imagination of researchers. Beside the identification of the pro-angiogenic growth factors and their counterpart inhibitors, the discovery of endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) in adults and their putative vascular-promoting and/or vascular-healing properties, has generated some of the biggest fascination and debate in the broad field of vascular biology. The simple concept of a population of undifferentiated cells being able to generate new endothelial cells and the corresponding blood vessels in adults is both intriguing and, as seen in the last 10 years, controversial. Academic rivalry or pure scientific dispute has accompanied the research on EPC for some time. The major issues put forward by opposing groups of scientists regarding the identity and the role of EPCs as well as the optimal isolation and detection techniques are discussed in this review. The clinical relevance of EPCs and their potential applications in cancer treatments are also highlighted.
诱导新血管形成或修复受损血管的能力是一个很有吸引力的想法，长期以来一直吸引着研究人员的关注和想象力。除了鉴定促血管生成的生长因子及其对应抑制剂外，成年人体内内皮祖细胞（EPC）的发现及其潜在的血管促进和/或血管修复特性，在血管生物学这一广阔领域引发了一些最大的关注和争议。一个简单的概念，即一群未分化的细胞能够在成年人体内产生新的内皮细胞和相应的血管，既引人入胜，又像在过去 10 年中看到的那样存在争议。学术竞争或纯粹的科学争议伴随着 EPC 的研究已经有一段时间了。本文讨论了科学界不同团体就 EPC 的身份和作用以及最佳的分离和检测技术提出的主要问题。还强调了 EPC 的临床相关性及其在癌症治疗中的潜在应用。
