FAQ

If EPCs naturally migrate toward injury, why dont they form an endothelial monolayer over the stent on their own?
With a bare metal stent or a drug eluting stent, EPCs cant do this on their own immediately post stent deployment because they are overwhelmed by the injury and are crowded out by fibrin deposition and other inflammatory cellular reactions. In normal stenting, the thrombus and active fibrin would form over the stent and vessel wall. This combined with the "foreign body reaction of the stent" create an acute unstable area, which adds to a robust inflammatory response. In order to reestablish a monolayer of endothelium, the body would need to overcome these obstacles and then begin managing the healing/inflammatory response.

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