Acute
myocardial infarction (AMI) results in ischemic damage and death of cardiomyocytes and loss of vasculature. Stem cell
therapy has emerged as a potentially promising strategy for maximizing cardiac function following ischemic injury. Issues of cell source, delivery, and quantification of response have challenged development of clinically viable strategies. In this study we investigate the effects of a well-defined bone marrow-derived allogeneic cell product delivered by
catheter directly to the myocardium via the
infarct-related vessel on global and regional measures of left ventricular (LV) function in a porcine model of
anterior wall myocardial infarction. Multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) were derived and expanded from the bone marrow of a donor Yorkshire pig.
Anterior wall myocardial infarction (AMI) was induced by 90 min of mid-LAD occlusion using a balloon
catheter. Two days after AMI was induced, either vehicle (
Plasma Lyte-A, n = 7), low-dose (20 million, n = 6), or high-dose (200 million, n = 6) MAPCs were delivered directly to the myocardium via the
infarct-related vessel using a transarterial microsyringe
catheter-based delivery system. Echocardiography was used to measure LV function as a function of time after AMI. Animals that received low-dose cell treatment showed significant improvement in regional and global LV function and remodeling compared to the high-dose or control animals. Direct myocardial delivery of allogeneic MAPCs 2 days following AMI through the vessel wall of the
infarct-related vessel is safe and results in delivery of cells throughout the
infarct zone and improved cardiac function despite lack of long-term cell survival. These data further support the hypothesis of cell-based myocardial tissue repair by a paracrine mechanism and suggest a clinically translatable strategy for delivering cells at any time after AMI to modulate cardiac remodeling and function.