Endovascular endothelial cell biopsy - a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Vascular Biology
• Cellular Biology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Endovascular endothelial cell biopsy (ECBx) enables direct sampling of endothelial cells (ECs) for functional assessment in patients.
• Current literature on ECBx protocols for obtaining and analyzing ECs is fragmented.
• A systematic review is needed to consolidate knowledge and estimate success rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review protocols for endothelial cell biopsy (ECBx).
• To analyze techniques for obtaining and analyzing endothelial cells (ECs).
• To estimate pooled success rates and cell yields for different ECBx methods.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search on Medline using terms 'endothelial cell', 'biopsy', and 'humans'.
• Inclusion of primary research studies on ECBx in humans; exclusion of animal and non-primary research.
• Narrative integration of data from 51 included studies (out of 784 identified).

Main Results:

• Most studies (46/51) utilized a J wire for EC sampling from arm blood vessels.
• Pooled success rate for ECBx was 91±15%, with an average yield of 1,058±893 cells per biopsy.
• Immunofluorescence was the most common analysis technique (36/51); no significant complications were reported.

Conclusions:

• Endothelial cells can be reliably obtained via ECBx using various techniques.
• ECBx demonstrates a high success rate and minimal complications, supporting its clinical utility.
• This review underscores the potential of ECBx for novel research in endothelial cell biology.