Treatment of Reperfused Ischemia with Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in a Preclinical Swine Model of Myocardial Infarction

The aim of the study was to determine the long-term effect of transplantation of adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) in a preclinical model of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). I/R was induced in 28 Goettingen minipigs by 120 min of coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion. Nine days later, surviving animals were allocated to receive transendocardial injection of a mean of 213.6 ± 41.78 million green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing ADSCs (n = 7) or culture medium as control (n = 9). Heart function, cell engraftment, and histological analysis were performed 3 months after transplantation. Transplantation of ADSCs induced a statistically significant long-lasting (3 months) improvement in cardiac function and geometry in comparison with control animals. Functional improvement was associated with an increase in angiogenesis and vasculogenesis and a positive effect on heart remodeling with a decrease in fibrosis and cardiac hypertrophy in animals treated with ADSCs. Despite the lack of cell engraftment after 3 months, ADSC transplantation induced changes in the ratio between MMP/TIMP. Our results indicate that transplantation of ADSCs, despite the lack of long-term significant cell engraftment, increases vessel density and prevents adverse remodeling in a clinically relevant model of myocardial infarction, strongly suggesting a paracrine-mediated effect. ADSCs thus constitute an attractive candidate for the treatment of myocardial infarction.