doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.108.180596
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.
Editorials |
Mesenchymal Stem Cell–Derived IL-10 and Recovery From Infarction
A Third Pitch for the Chord
From the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Fla.
Correspondence to Nanette H. Bishopric, University of Miami School of Medicine, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, 1600 NW 10th Avenue, RMSB 6026, PO Box 016189 (R-189), Miami, FL 33101. E-mail n.bishopric@miami.edu
See related article, pages 203–211
Key Words: Regulatory T cells • myocardial infarction • mouse model • regeneration
An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract. |
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells found in several adult tissues that are capable of differentiating into a number of different mesenchymal tissues, including muscle, bone, adipose tissue, cardiac myocytes, and neural precursors. When transplanted into allogeneic tissues, these cells may persist for long periods of time, suggesting that they can evade immune surveillance and contribute to the repair of damaged tissues. Unfractionated or minimally refined bone marrow cell preparations, which probably contain a mixture of hematopoeitic, mesenchymal, and endothelial precursor cells in addition to dendritic cells, can reduce myocardial infarct size and improve performance after infarction, both in rodent models and in human clinical trials, although the exact extent to which these cells form new cardiac myocytes and promote long-term improvement in functional capacity is still hotly debated.
One of the undisputed features of MSCs is their ability to produce a variety of trophic and immunomodulatory factors that can directly promote cell survival and reduce inflammation. A number of groups have explored the possibility that such MSC-derived factors may account for much or all of their therapeutic properties in vivo. Whether or not MSC-dependent myocardial salvage involves cardiomyogenic differentiation or long-term persistence of the cells,1–3 factors secreted by MSCs appear to contribute importantly to the outcome.4 Genetic or preconditioning-mediated enhancement of such factors has been shown to improve the therapeutic properties of MSCs.2,4 Obviously identification of the factors responsible for these beneficial effects would have both scientific and practical impact. However, the factors produced by native MSCs have
Related Article:
Circ. Res. 2008 103: 203-211.