Endogenous stem cells in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Considerable research efforts have recently been made towards the application of autologous stem cell therapy for cardiovascular regeneration. Patients with coronary artery disease undergoing surgery represent a potential target. As yet, this approach has failed to obtain satisfactory evidence in clinical studies. However, several observational studies have described mobilising effect of cardiac surgery on endogenous stem cells, although the mechanisms of this phenomenon and its clinical relevance are not defined. This article reviews available clinical data on the effect of cardiac surgery on endogenous stem cells and outlines some of the controversies in this area.