A novel way of harvesting a large population of endothelial cells for clinical and experimental use

For in vitro cultural purposes, cytokines and a variety of other synthetic constituents have been used in time past to support the growth of Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) and many other critical human cells. However, in the case of HSCs, it has not been possible to ensure their long-term survival and expansion by merely using cocktails of these cytokines. Endothelial Cells (EC), the main type of cells lining the blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and the heart are favorable to HSC growth. When in co-culture with HSCs, ECs have been found to be key in supporting HSCs in vitro. Harvesting sufficient number of endogenous ECs is critical for these cells' utility in experiments and for clinical purposes. The number of natural endogenous ECs obtainable by most current procedures fall short of that required for clinical application and HSC co-culture purposes; hence researchers have now resorted to the use of synthetic brand of ECs which have its own shortcomings. Although good for experimental purposes, it may not be easily adaptable for clinical therapy. This review is intended to blend the current technologies in use for therapy to formulate a procedure for obtaining large numbers of endothelial cells that could be used in co-culture with HSCs or even for use in clinical therapy.