FAQ

What are EPCs?
The current state-of-the-art in the prevention of in-stent restenosis is the emergence of drug eluting stent [DES] technology. Typically, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory drugs are applied to the metallic stent in a polymer matrix that when implanted gradually releases their drug load into the directly contacted tissues. The drug therapeutic component is aimed at interfering with the lesion healing and foreign body reaction manifest towards the implanted stent. In contrast, the EPC capture approach involves a tissue engineering approach of rapidly recruiting endogenous, circulating EPCs from the blood onto the implant surface in a confluent monolayer that transforms into mature, functional endothelium. It is the functional endothelium that then physiologically modulates the healing response, the proliferation of smooth muscle cells, and the expression of extracellular matrix components that make up restenotic lesions. Therefore, to contrast the two approaches, the DES approach relies upon the pharmacologic inhibition of the bad responses manifest towards the stent, while the EPC capture approach relies upon the recruitment of EPCs to physiologically modulate the healing reaction and to potentiate the desired right response.

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