Isolation of Endothelial Progenitor Cells from Healthy Volunteers and Their Migratory Potential Influenced by Serum Samples After Cardiac SurgeryChristoph Emontzpohl 1,2, David Simons 3, Sandra Kraemer 4, Andreas Goetzenich 4, Gernot Marx 1, Jürgen Bernhagen 5,6, Christian Stoppe 1
1Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Aachen, 2Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University Hospital Aachen, 3Department of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, 4Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Aachen, 5Department of Vascular Biology, Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD), Klinikum der Universität München, 6Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-/Kreislaufkrankheiten (DZHK), Munich Heart Alliance
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are crucially involved in the neovascularization of ischemic tissues. This method describes the isolation of human EPCs from peripheral blood, as well as the identification of their migratory potential against serum samples of cardiac surgical patients.