Proteases and receptors in the recruitment of endothelial progenitor cells in neovascularization.

Since the initial discovery of endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), and their promise in increasing angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, a myriad of papers have highlighted their potential application in experimental and clinical neovascularization and in tissue engineering. However, promising reports are contrasted by other studies that could not find a role for EPC in neovascularization. Presently, two types of endothelial progenitor cell populations are recognized.