Design and validation of an endothelial progenitor cell capture chip and its application in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

ABSTRACT: The number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) inversely correlates with cardiovascular risk and clinical outcome, and thus has been proposed as a valuable biomarker for risk assessment, disease progression, and response to therapy. However, current strategies for isolation of these rare cells are limited to complex, laborious approaches. The goal of this study was the design and validation of a disposable microfluidic platform capable of selectively capturing and enumerating EPCs directly from human whole blood in healthy and diseased subjects, eliminating sample preprocessing. We then applied the "EPC capture chip" clinically and determined EPC numbers in blood from patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Blood was collected in tubes and injected into polymeri

SUBMITTER: Hansmann G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3306233 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature