Effect of transplantation of bone marrow stem cells on myocardial infarction size in a rabbit model

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Intravenous transplantation has been regarded as a most safe method in stem cell therapies. There is evidence showing the homing of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) into the injured sites, and thus these cells can be used in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (MI). This study aimed to investigate the effect of intravenous and epicardial transplantion of BMSCs on myocardial infarction size in a rabbit model. METHODS:A total of 60 New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: control group, epicardium group (group I) and ear vein group (group II). The BMSCs were collected from the tibial plateau in group I and group II, cultured and labeled. In the three groups, rabbits underwent thoracotomy and ligation of the middle left anterior descending artery. The elevation of ST segment >0.2 mV lasting for 30 minutes on the lead II and III of electrocardiogram suggested successful introduction of myocardial infarction. Two weeks after myocardial infarction, rabbits in group I were treated with autogenous BMSCs at the infarct region and those in group II received intravenous transplantation of BMSCs. In the control group, rabbits were treated with PBS following thoracotomy. Four weeks after myocardial infarction, the heart was collected from all rabbits and the infarct size was calculated. The heart was cut into sections followed by HE staining and calculation of infarct size with an image system. RESULTS:In groups I and II, the infarct size was signifi cantly reduced after transplantation with BMSCs when compared with the control group (P<0.05). However, there was no signifi cant difference in the infarct size between groups I and II (P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Transplantation of BMSCs has therapeutic effect on MI. Moreover, epicardial and intravenous transplantation of BMSCs has comparable therapeutic efficacy on myocardial infarction.

Histological and Immunohistochemical Study of the Possible Therapeutic Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Their Exosomes and Vitamin E on Experimentally Induced Cardio-Toxicity in Adult Male Albino Rats

“…In agreement with these findings, Berry et al, [19], Helal et al, [20] and Ji et al, [ 21]reported that transplantation of autologous undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells could be an effective method for myocardial regeneration after infarction, decreases fibrosis, apoptosis and left ventricular dilatation while increasing myocardial thickness. The decreased amount of fibrosis after MSCs injection was explained by Wen et al, [22] who mentioned that MSCs exert paracrine anti-fibrotic effects to attenuate ventricular remodeling through regulation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFB) proliferation.…”

Recent Advances in Cardiac Tissue Engineering for the Management of Myocardium Infarction

“…Many research groups are currently investigating the possibility of restoring cardiac function by replacing lost cardiomyocytes or via rejuvenating the resident cardiac stem cell population to counterbalance the lost CMs. Cell therapy has conventionally been a modest procedure in which cells are directly injected into the myocardium [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. These cells may function in various ways, including differentiation into cardiomyocytes, support for endogenous regeneration, and/or protection of the affected cells.…”

Analyzing Impetus of Regenerative Cellular Therapeutics in Myocardial Infarction

“…Similarly, a review and meta-analysis of clinical studies also concluded that the myocardial injection of BMSCs following surgical revascularization might benefit patients with chronic ischemic heart disease with severely impaired left ventricular (LV) function [24]. The BMSCs have shown to be safe and with a comparable therapeutic efficacy in rabbit MI model when transplanted either via epicardial or intravenous routes [25], leading to their migration and differentiation into myocardial cells in the infarcted myocardium, and further inhibit subsequent vascular remodeling. Various discrepancies have been reported with respect to BMSCs doses and time gap between the onset of symptoms and initiation of MI treatment [26].…”