1 research outputs found
Phenotypic and functional characterization of endothelial progenitor cells isolated from peripheral blood of renal cell carcinoma patients
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are mobilized from either bone marrow or
arterial walls to restore blood perfusion to ischemic organs and establish the vascular
network within growing tumors [1]. The Ca2+ machinery plays a key role in EPC
activation and might serve a molecular target for novel therapies of highly angiogenic
tumors, such as renal cell carcinoma (RCC) [1]. The Ca2+ toolkit is remodelled in
EPCs isolated from RCC patients (RCC-EPCs) as respect to healthy donors [2]. The
present study was undertaken to evaluate for the first time the functional properties
of EPCs isolated from tumor patients by focusing on RCC-EPCs. We extended our
analysis at microscopic level by monitoring the sub-cellular structure of RCC-EPCs
relative to their Ca2+ signalling fingerprint. Our results showed a striking functional
and ultrastructural difference between RCC-EPCs and their normal counterparts,
which might be the basis for designing novel, more specific anti-angiogenic treatments