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Blood, 25 June 2009, Vol. 113, No. 26, pp. 6716-6725. Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on March 25, 2009; DOI 10.1182/blood-2008-09-181362. This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Figures and Videos All Versions of this Article: blood-2008-09-181362v1 113/26/6716    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Google Scholar Articles by Reinisch, A. Articles by Strunk, D. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Reinisch, A. Articles by Strunk, D. Related Collections Vascular Biology Social Bookmarking                   What's this?  Previous Article  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Article  VASCULAR BIOLOGY Humanized large-scale expanded endothelial colony–forming cells function in vitro and in vivo Andreas Reinisch1,2,*, Nicole A. Hofmann1,*, Anna C. Obenauf3, Karl Kashofer4, Eva Rohde1,5, Katharina Schallmoser1,5, Karin Flicker3, Gerhard Lanzer5, Werner Linkesch2, Michael R. Speicher3, and Dirk Strunk1,2 1 Stem Cell Research Unit, 2 Department of Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, University Clinic of Internal Medicine, 3 Institute of Human Genetics, 4 Institute of Pathology, and 5 University Clinic of Blood Group Serology and Transfusion Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria Endothelial progenitor cells are critically involved in essential biologic processes, such as vascular homeostasis, regeneration, and tumor angiogenesis. Endothelial colony–forming cells (ECFCs) are endothelial progenitor cells with robust proliferative potential. Their profound vessel-forming capacity makes them a promising tool for innovative experimental, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies. Efficient and safe methods for their isolation and expansion are presently lacking. Based on the previously established efficacy of animal serum–free large-scale clinical-grade propagation of mesenchymal stromal cells, we hypothesized that endothelial lineage cells may also be propagated efficiently following a comparable strategy. Here we demonstrate that human ECFCs can be recovered directly from unmanipulated whole blood. A novel large-scale animal protein-free humanized expansion strategy preserves the progenitor hierarchy with sustained proliferation potential of more than 30 population doublings. By applying large-scale propagated ECFCs in various test systems, we observed vascular networks in vitro and perfused vessels in vivo. After large-scale expansion and cryopreservation phenotype, function, proliferation, and genomic stability were maintained. For the first time, proliferative, functional, and storable ECFCs propagated under humanized conditions can be explored in terms of their therapeutic applicability and risk profile. CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

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