Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a public health epidemic that increases risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an important mechanism of cardiovascular disease in individuals with CKD. Elevated levels of FGF23 have been linked to greater risks of LVH and mortality in patients with CKD, but whether these risks represent causal effects of FGF23 is unknown. Here, we report that elevated FGF23 levels are independently associated with LVH in a large, racially diverse CKD cohort. FGF23 caused pathological hypertrophy of isolated rat cardiomyocytes via FGF receptor-dependent activation of the calcineurin-NFAT signaling pathway, but this effect was independent of klotho, the coreceptor for FGF23 in the kidney and parathyroid glands. Intramyocardial or intravenous injection of FGF23 in wild-type mice resulted in LVH, and klotho-deficient mice demonstrated elevated FGF23 levels and LVH. In an established animal model of CKD, treatment with an FGF-receptor blocker attenuated LVH, although no change in blood pressure was observed. These results unveil a klotho-independent, causal role for FGF23 in the pathogenesis of LVH and suggest that chronically elevated FGF23 levels contribute directly to high rates of LVH and mortality in individuals with CKD.

Rationale The regenerative potential of the heart is insufficient to fully restore functioning myocardium after injury, motivating the quest for a cell-based replacement strategy. Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have the capacity for cardiac repair that appears to exceed their capacity for differentiation into cardiac myocytes. Objective Here we test the hypothesis that bone marrow derived MSCs stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous cardiac stem cells (CSCs) as part of their regenerative repertoire. Methods And Results Female Yorkshire pigs (n=31) underwent experimental myocardial Infarction (MI); and 3 days later received transendocardial injections of allogeneic male bone marrow-derived MSCs, MSC concentrated conditioned medium (CCM), or placebo (Plasmalyte). A no-injection control group was also studied. MSCs engrafted and differentiated into cardiomyocytes and vascular structures. In addition, endogenous c-kit+ CSCs increased 20-fold in MSC treated animals vs. controls (p<0.001), there was a 6-fold increase in GATA-4+ CSCs in MSC vs. control (p<0.001), and mitotic myocytes increased 4-fold. Porcine endomyocardial biopsies were harvested and plated as organotypic cultures in the presence or absence of MSC feeder layers. In vitro, MSCs stimulated c-kit+ CSCs proliferation into enriched populations of adult cardioblasts that expressed Nkx2-5 and troponin I. Conclusions MSCs stimulate host CSCs, a new mechanism of action underlying successful cell-based therapeutics.

The mechanism(s) underlying cardiac reparative effects of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) remain highly controversial. Here we tested the hypothesis that MSCs regenerate chronically infarcted myocardium through mechanisms comprising long-term engraftment and trilineage differentiation. Twelve weeks after myocardial infarction, female swine received catheterbased transendocardial injections of either placebo (n ‫؍‬ 4) or male allogeneic MSCs (200 million; n ‫؍‬ 6). Animals underwent serial cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and in vivo cell fate was determined by co-localization of Y-chromosome (Y pos ) cells with markers of cardiac, vascular muscle, and endothelial lineages. MSCs engrafted in infarct and border zones and differentiated into cardiomyocytes as ascertained by co-localization with GATA-4, Nkx2.5, and ␣-sarcomeric actin. In addition, Y pos MSCs exhibited vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cell differentiation, contributing to large and small vessel formation. Infarct size was reduced from 19.3 ؎ 1.7% to 13.9 ؎ 2.0% (P < 0.001), and ejection fraction (EF) increased from 35.0 ؎ 1.7% to 41.3 ؎ 2.7% (P < 0.05) in MSC but not placebo pigs over 12 weeks. This was accompanied by increases in regional contractility and myocardial blood flow (MBF), particularly in the infarct border zone. Importantly, MSC engraftment correlated with functional recovery in contractility (R ‫؍‬ 0.85, P < 0.05) and MBF (R ‫؍‬ 0.76, P < 0.01). Together these findings demonstrate long-term MSC survival, engraftment, and trilineage differentiation following transplantation into chronically scarred myocardium. MSCs are an adult stem cell with the capacity for cardiomyogenesis and vasculogenesis which contribute, at least in part, to their ability to repair chronically scarred myocardium.cardiac chimerism ͉ cellular cardiomyoplasty ͉ heart failure ͉ catheter delivery

To demonstrate the safety of transendocardial stem cell injection (TESI) with autologous MSCs and BMCs in patients with ICM.• To assess prespecified outcomes of efficacy.