Endothelial progenitor cells promote vasculogenesis and osteogenesis in the repair of bone defects / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Fracture is a common orthopedic disease in clinic. Although most fractures can heal by primary bone healing through surgical treatments, such as rigid internal fixation, malunion is liable to occur in some circumstances, eventually leading to bone defects. Neovascularization at the bone defect site plays a vital role in bone healing. Based on the pro-angiogenic ability of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), its capacity for bone regeneration and repair has gradually become the focus of attention. OBJECTIVE: To review the use of EPCs transplantation to promote vasculogenesis and osteogenesis in bone defects. METHODS: With the key words of “endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, therapy/treatment, bone defect” in Chinese and English, we performed a computer-based search in CNKI, WanFang and PubMed databases for relevant articles published from 1986 to 2019. Finally, 58 eligible articles were included in result analysis. During the literature retrieval, we followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Bone defects can promote the activation and homing of EPCs. EPCs can promote vasculogenesis and further trigger bone regeneration. There are still some problems to be solved before the application of EPCs in the treatment of bone defects. More experiments need to be carried out to investigate the exact mechanism of EPCs in vasculogenesis. More clinical trials are warranted, providing data support for future clinical applications and giving better treatment to patients disabled by bone defects.