Autologous marrow stromal cell transplantation for improving rabbit cardiac performance after myocardial infarction

    ZHANG Yong, CHEN Ruª²Kun

    1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, PLA General Hospital, Jinan Military Area Command, Jinan 250031, China, 2Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To test the hypothesis that marrow stromal cells (MSCs), when implanted into selfª²myocardium, can undergo milieuª²dependent differentiation, express cardiomyogenic phenotypes and enhance angiogenesis and cardiac function of ischemic hearts in vivo. METHODS: Acute myocardial infarction was induced by occlusion of left anterior descending artery, and autologous MSCs labeled with BrdU (Bromodeoxyuridine) in vitro were administrated intramyocardially into the infarct area of the same donor rabbits. RESULTS: After 4 weeks, transplanted MSCs demonstrated myogenic differentiation with the expression of ¦Áª²sarcomeric actin and connexin 43. MSCs displayed increased levels of VEGF protein [(684¡À86) fg/L vs (515¡À51) fg/L, P<0.05] and the number of vessels [(22.9¡À6.6)/HP vs (19.0¡À5.9)/HP, P<0.05] in myocardial ischemia area, compared with those in controls. MSCs implantation resulted in markedly improved left ventricular contractility [LVSP: (15.08¡À0.84) kPa vs (13.26¡À0.68) kPa; LVEDP: (1.53¡À0.28) kPa vs (19.03¡À0.41) kPa; +dp/dtmax: (+615.77¡À48.69) kPa/s vs (+435.75¡À58.25) kPa/s; -dp/dtmax: (-401.17¡À46.23) kPa/s vs (-338.25¡À50.72) kPa/s, P<0.05]. CONCLUSION: Autologous MSCs transplantation can effectively treat myocardial ischemia without immune rejection. ......