BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) may be caused by endothelial dysfunction, whereas endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) may attenuate endothelial dysfunction. Their vitality is lower in CSVD. A subset of lymphocytes, angiogenic T-cells, is capable to stimulate EPC function. The purpose of our study was to explore the relation between CSVD manifestations, angiogenic T-ce...

Renal transplantation is potentially curative in renal failure, but long-term efficacy is limited by untreatable chronic rejection. Endothelial damage contributes to chronic rejection and is potentially repairable by circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC). The frequency and function of EPC are variably influenced by end-stage renal failure (ESRF). Here, we isolated and functionally char...

Cell-released microvesicles (MVs) represent a novel way of cell-to-cell communication. Previous evidence indicates that endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs)-derived MVs can modulate endothelial cell survival and proliferation. In this study, we evaluated whether EPC-MVs protect cardiomyocytes (CMs) against angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertrophy and apoptosis. The H9c2 CMs were exposed to An...

Cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of death in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a critical role in vascular repair, and improving EPC biology represents a novel therapeutic target. Three groups of age- and gender-matched patients were studied: 1) 10 healthy control, 2) 12 conventional hemodialysis (CHD) patients, and 3) 10 nocturnal he...

Event-driven process chains (EPCs) are frequently used as a modeling language for the representation of business processes. As such, business analysts are familiar with using EPC models in the context of business process management. Up to now, there is no verification technique available that allows business analysts to express forbidden behavior in an intuitive manner. In this paper, we discus...

OBJECTIVES Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with advanced atherosclerosis and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Increasing evidence suggests that injured endothelial monolayer is regenerated by circulating bone marrow derived-endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), and levels of circulating EPCs reflect vascular repair capacity. However, the relation between NAFLD and ...

BACKGROUND Angiogenesis and vascular remodelling are crucial events in tissue repair mechanisms promoted by cell transplantation. Current evidence underscores the importance of the soluble factors secreted by stem cells in tissue regeneration. In the present study we investigated the effects of paracrine factors derived from cultured endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) on rat brain endothelial c...

RATIONALE Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) contribute to the regeneration of endothelium. Aging-associated senescence results in reduced number and function of EPCs, potentially contributing to increased cardiac risk, reduced angiogenic capacity, and impaired cardiac repair effectiveness. The mechanisms underlying EPC senescence are unknown. Increasing evidence supports the role of microRNAs...

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are involved in the maintenance of endothelial homoeostasis and in the process of new vessel formation. Experimental and clinical studies have shown that atherosclerosis is associated with reduced numbers and dysfunction of EPCs; and that medications alone are able to partially reverse the impairment of EPCs in patients with atherosclerosis. Therefore, nove...