As the potential of pluripotent stem cell-derived differentiated cells has been demonstrated in regenerative medicine, differentiated vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are emerging as a therapeutic agent for the cardiovascular system.… Click to show full abstract
As the potential of pluripotent stem cell-derived differentiated cells has been demonstrated in regenerative medicine, differentiated vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are emerging as a therapeutic agent for the cardiovascular system. To verify the therapeutic efficacy of differentiated ECs in an ischemic model, we induced human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) as EC lineage and produced high-purity ECs through fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). When hESC-ECs were transplanted into a hindlimb ischemic model, it was confirmed that blood flow and muscle regeneration were further improved by creating new blood vessels together with autologous ECs than the primary cell as cord blood endothelial progenitor cells (CB-EPCs). In addition, previously reported studies showed detection of transplanted cells engrafted in blood vessels through various tracking methods, but failed to provide accurate quantitative values over time. In this study, we demonstrated that hESC-ECs were engrafted approximately 7-fold more than CB-EPCs by using an accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)-based cell tracking technology that could perform quantification at the single cell level. An accurate quantification index is suggested. It has never been reported in in vivo kinetics of hESC-ECs that can act as therapeutic agents. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
               
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