Vasileios G. Chantzichristos, Alexandros D. Tselepis
Abstract
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are mononuclear cells which are found mainly in peripheral blood. Their main characteristic is that they differentiate into mature endothelial cells. Furthermore, EPCs participate in the regeneration of endothelium and in angiogenesis. It is known that, statins are hypolipidaemic drugs that exhibit numerous pleiotropic actions. In this review, we discuss the effect of statins in the functionality of EPCs.
Keywords: Endothelial progenitor cells, statins, angiogenesis, neovascularization, reendothelialization