Treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension with prostacyclin-treated endothelial progenitor cells
The current application is directed to a method for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), comprising: providing isolated endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs); treating the EPCs with prostacyclin, wherein the treated EPCs exhibit a hyperproliferative phenotype with enhanced angiogenic property; and administering a composition comprising the treated EPCs into a subject suffering from PAH.
1. A method for treating pulmonary hypertension, comprising:
providing isolated endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), wherein the EPCs are isolated from a human being, a tissue, or cell culture;
treating the isolated EPCs in vitro or ex vivo with a prostacyclin during expansion of the EPCs, wherein the treated EPCs exhibit a hyperproliferative phenotype with enhanced angiogenic activity; and
administering a composition comprising the treated EPCs to a subject suffering from pulmonary hypertension.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the prostacyclin is selected from the group consisting of epoprostenol sodium, treprostinil, and iloprost.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subject is a human being.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the EPCs are autologous.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the EPCs are isolated from the blood of the subject suffering from pulmonary hypertension.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the EPCs are endothelial colony forming cells.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the EPCs are genetically modified.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition is a pharmaceutical composition further comprising at least one pharmaceutically-acceptable carrier.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises at least one therapeutic agent other than EPCs.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein administering the composition promotes pulmonary vascular repair.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition is co-administered with at least one growth factor.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the growth factor is selected from the group consisting of FGF, VEGF-A, VEGF-B, BMP-4, and TGF-Beta.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition is co-administered with (i) mesenchymal stem cells or (ii) a culture medium that has been in contact with mesenchymal stem cells and that contains one or more components thereof.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition is co-administered with a prostacyclin.
15. The method of claim 5 , wherein the subjected is pretreated with a prostacyclin before the isolation of the EPCs.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the prostacyclin is treprostinil.