A depleting antibody toward sca-1 mitigates a surge of CD34+/c-kit+ progenitors and reduces vascular restenosis in a murine vascular injury model

Vascular restenosis is a clinically important complication leading to failure of up to half of open and endovascular interventions in under 5 years. As a result, this pathologic process affects long-term patient outcomes and increases health care costs. Progenitor cells circulating in the blood have been suggested to contribute to restenosis, but it has not been demonstrated if these cells play an active role in this pathologic process. The results of this study suggest that circulating progenitor cells may represent an important contributor to restenosis and that blockade of these cells may represent an approach to prevent this life- and limb-threatening complication.