Due to the lack of animal models and difficulty in obtaining specimens, the study of pathogenesis of moyamoya disease (MMD) almost stagnated. In recent years, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have attracted more and more attention in vascular diseases due to their important role in neovascularization. With the aid of paradigms and methods in cardiovascular diseases research, people began to explore the role of EPCs in the processing of MMD. In the past decade, studies have shown that abnormalities in cell amounts and functions of EPCs were closely related to the vascular pathological changes in MMD. However, the lack of consistent criteria, such as isolation, cultivation, and identification standards, is also blocking the way forward. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the current situation and controversial issues relevant to studies about EPCs in the pathogenesis and etiology of MMD.
Keywords: endothelial progenitor cells; moyamoya disease; neovascularization; pathogenesis.