Umbilical cord blood for cardiovascular cell therapy: from promise to fact

Santiago Roura1, Josep-Maria Pujal1, Antoni Bayes-Genis1,2,3,4

  • 1ICREC Research Group, Health Sciences Research Institute Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Barcelona, Spain.

Endothelial recovery and cell replacement are therapeutic challenges for cardiovascular medicine. Initially employed in the treatment of blood malignancies due to its high concentration of hematological precursors, umbilical cord blood (UCB) is now a non-controversial and accepted source of both hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic progenitors for a variety of emerging cell therapies in clinical trials. Here, we review the current therapeutic potential of UCB, focusing in recent evidence demonstrating the ability of UCB-derived mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into the endothelial lineage and to develop new vasculature in vivo.

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