Development of cardiovascular diseases mobilises endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from the bone marrow to participate in vascular repair and formation of new blood vessels under both pathological and physiological conditions. Therefore, EPCs show great potential for therapeutic applications; however, the phenotypic and functional characterisation of EPCs is still difficult because controversies exist regarding their accurate definition. Growing studies have shown modest clinical benefits of EPCs; however, it is necessary to better understand...
