Bone marrow cells and ejection fraction improvements in the human heart

The crucial question of every stem cell transplantation whether the cellular incorporation or other happenings (paracrine effects) results in any functional improvement. In heart it was showed that functional and metabolic regeneration of infarcted and chronically avital tissue can be achieved in humans using transplantation of bone-marrow-derived cells {Brehm and Strauer, 2006, Nat Clin Pract Cardiovasc Med, 3 Suppl 1, S101-4} {Nyolczas et al., 2007, Am Heart J, 153, 212.e1-7}. Ejection fraction (E_f) is the fraction of blood pumped out of a ventricle with each heart beat so it is an excellent physiologic parameter to measure with echocardiography.

In the case of patients with chronic myocardial infarction both global left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and infarction wall-movement velocity were increased significantly (15% and 57%, respectively) after 3 months {Brehm and Strauer, 2006, Nat Clin Pract Cardiovasc Med, 3 Suppl 1, S101-4}. In the case of acute myocardial infarction, implanted autologous BMDCs both improved LVEF from (50 +/- 10% to 58 +/- 10% at 4-month follow-up in one study, and in another study the combined stem cell injection (intramyocardial and intracoronary) resulted in an increase in global EF, (from 34.8 to 39.5 percent), as well as a significant increase in wall motion at the six-month follow up {Schachinger et al., 2004, J Am Coll Cardiol, 44, 1690-9} {Nyolczas et al., 2007, Am Heart J, 153, 212.e1-7}

Figure: Left ventricular ejection fraction, measured by quantitative left ventricular angiography initially and at four-month follow-up for patients receiving bone marrow-derived progenitor cells (BMC). Bars represent mean ± SD. From Schachinger et al., 2004

Literature:

Human heart mitochondria and nitric oxide production: hard work

I’ve almost missed the publication of an article by our group back home, in Budapest which is my first real first author peer-review article published in Life Sciences, impact factor, 2.512 as of 2005. The peer-review process was hard (illustration: me under the hood) and bloody, because it is a negative result, so you have to be more careful and logically step-by-step. We’ve eventually showed that Human heart mitochondria do not produce physiologically relevant quantities of nitric oxide. Take care, it is hardcore science without any popular tone. Abstract here:

Coating heart stents with human stem cells.

A stent is a small metal coil, slotted tube, or mesh structure that is placed in a coronary artery to keep it open and wide allowing more blood through. It is a permanent implant and the most common intervention for Coronary Artery Disease. From Yorkshire Post Today: Scientists from Sheffield University are developing the world’s first regenerative device to be inserted into diseased arteries. ..The stent has to be covered with chemicals so the body does not attack it and prevent the heart fully healing. One option is to stop the defensive reaction by coating the stents with human stem cells. Link

But hey, there is not a word about what type of stem or progenitor cell do they use and there is not a hint of the cells’s source???
Imagine a world where every bionic, artificial device in your body is coated with cells of your own before implantation so the body thinks first that the device is the organic part of its own make-up.

Image source