Vascular endothelial cells are the core of the vessels. These cells express some specific markers, such as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor2, CD31, and the von Willebrand factor. These cells can promote the formation of tube structures in matrigel. Dental pulp stem cells has potential for self-renewal and differentiation into a variety of cell types, including osteoblast-like cells, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and neural-like cells in different medium with various content of inducer. Dental pulp stem cells also express endothelial cell markers and form vascular-like structure in vitro when cultured in low-serum culture medium added with vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor. In vivo studies suggest that these cells can promote angiogenesis and blood perfusion of regional ischemic tissue, which further confirms that dental pulp stem cells can also be differentiated into endothelial cells.
