Bone marrow and circulating stem/progenitor cells for regenerative cardiovascular therapy

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the Western world. In addition to the advancement of current therapeutic approaches to reduce the associated morbidity and mortality, regenerative medicine and cell-based therapy have been areas of continuous investigation. Circulating and bone-marrow-derived stem or endothelial progenitor cells are an attractive source for regenerative therapy in the cardiovascular field. In this review, we highlight the advantages and limitations of this approach with a focus on key observations from animal studies and clinical trials.

Abbreviations: BM, bone marrow, CAD, coronary artery disease, CD34, cluster of differentiation 34, CFU, colony-forming unit, CVD, cardiovascular disease, DM, diabetes mellitus, eNOS, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, EF, ejection fraction, EPC, endothelial progenitor cells, GCSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor, HSC, hematopoetic stem cell, LV, left ventricular, LVESV, left ventricular end systolic volume, MI, myocardial infarction, MNC, mononuclear stem cell, MRI, magnetic resonance imaging, PB, peripheral blood, LVEDV, left ventricular end diastolic volume, CABG, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, CLI, critical limb ischemia