Therapeutic angiogenesis for brain ischemia: a brief review.

In the normal mature brain, blood vessel formation is tightly downregulated. However, pathologic processes such as ischemia can induce cerebral vascular regeneration. Angiogenesis is one of the major styles of new vessel formation. In this article, we summarize the major angiogenic factors in the brain, discuss the significant changes of angiogenic factors and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in response to brain ischemia, and finally, review the therapeutic potential of angiogenic factors and EPCs in experimental cerebral ischemia based on the concept of neurovascular unit.