Endothelialization of vascular surfaces. According to one aspect, the
invention involves a technique for re-endothelializing an artery whose
endothelial layer has been damaged by balloon angioplasty. The technique
comprises, in one embodiment, introducing into the bloodstream of a
patient, prior to performing the angioplasty, a quantity of a bispecific
antibody, the bispecific antibody having a first antigen binding site
directed against a surface marker common to both endothelial progenitor
cells (EPCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) and having a second antigen
binding site directed against a subendothelial epitope. The bispecific
antibody is introduced in a quantity sufficient to bind a substantial
percentage of circulating EPCs and circulating ECs. In this manner, once
the angioplasty has been performed and the target epitopes on the
subendothelium have been exposed, the bispecific antibodies that have
already become bound to the circulating EPCs and ECs also then bind to
the subendothelium. Thus seeded by the bound EPCs and ECs, the exposed
subendothelium is covered after a short period of proliferation and
differentiation.