Biological approaches to ischemic tissue repair: gene- and cell-based strategies

Abstract

Gene therapy is a potential therapeutic strategy for treatment of ischemic vascular diseases; however, the clinical application of gene therapy has met some anticipated challenges. Recent randomized, controlled trials suggest that patients with cardiovascular disease may also benefit from cell-based therapies, and the optimal treatment regimen may combine both approaches to take advantage of potential synergy between the underlying therapeutic mechanisms. This review discusses recent research into both gene and cell therapy and considers the potential application of a combined treatment approach for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular ischemic diseases.

Keywords::

• angiogenesis
• cardiovascular disease
• cell therapy
• cerebrovascular disease
• coronary artery disease
• gene therapy
• growth factor
• ischemia
• ischemic stroke
• neovascularization
• peripheral artery disease
• vasculogenesis

Acknowledgments

We thank W Kevin Meisner, PhD, ELS, for editorial support and Mickey Neely for administrative support.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported in part by NIH grants HL-53354, HL-57516, HL-77428, HL-63414, HL-80137 and PO1HL-66957. Jerome Roncalli was supported by the French Federation of Cardiology and Jörn Tongers by the German Heart Foundation and Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Hannover, Germany. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.