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Published on: August 29, 2020
Cellular plasticity: the good, the bad, and the ugly? Microenvironmental influences on progenitor cell therapy
Jan-Renier A J Moonen1, Martin C Harmsen, Guido Krenning
1Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Progenitor cell based therapies have emerged for the treatment of ischemic cardiovascular diseases where there is insufficient endogenous repair. However, clinical success has been limited, which challenges the original premise that transplanted progenitor cells would orchestrate repair. In this review, we discuss the basics of endothelial progenitor cell therapy and describe how microenvironmental changes (i.e., trophic and mechano-structural factors) in the damaged myocardium influence progenitor cell plasticity and hamper beneficial therapeutic outcome. Further understanding of these microenvironmental clues will enable optimization of cell therapy at all levels. We discuss current concepts and provide future perspectives for the enhancement of progenitor cell therapy, and merge these advances into a combined approach for ischemic tissue repair.
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