Accumulating evidence indicates the impact of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in
vascular repair. In patients, the number of EPCs is negatively correlated with the severity of
atherosclerosis. In various animal models, transplantation of bone marrow-derived
progenitor cells could sufficiently rescue organ function and enhance vascular repair and
tissue regeneration. Increase in the number of circulating progenitors, induced by cell
transfusion or enhanced mobilization, can also enhance restoration and integrity of the …

Feeding carbohydrate-enriched diets to normal rats has been shown to induce metabolic
syndrome. Fructose-fed rats (FFR) have been used to assess the pathophysiological
mechanisms involved in the development of this syndrome. The best finding in this study are
the description of vascular inflammation associated with mesenteric remodeling in
experimental models that received fructose and the vascular repair found in association with
a smaller expression of CD34/Flk-1+ cells in the vascular wall of mesenteric arteries, a …