Preparation and characterization of circulating angiogenic cells for tissue engineering applications

Circulating angiogenic cells (CACs) are a heterogeneous cell population of bone marrow (BM) origin. These cells are most commonly derived from the peripheral blood, bone marrow, and cord blood, and are one of the leading candidates for promoting vascularization in tissue engineering therapies. CACs can be isolated by culturing peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) on fibronectin or by flow cytometry to obtain more specific subpopulations. Here we will describe how to generate a population of CACs, and how to characterize the cells and confirm their phenotype. Also, we will provide select methods that can be used to assess the angiogenic and endothelial cell-like properties of the CACs.