Effect of endothelial and mesenchymal stem cells on improving myocardial function

Myocardial infarction is the main cause of death worldwide. Angiogenesis, a promising new therapy for the treatment of diffuse coronary artery disease, shows a poor response to conventional revascularization techniques. This study focused on improving myocardial function using endothelial cells (ECs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a sheep animal model.
Acute myocardial infarction was induced in 18 sheep (12 treated cases and 6 controls). Autologous MSCs and ECs were injected in the infarcted area and the border zone. Two months after transplantation, echocardiography, electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry were performed.
Echocardiography in both MSC and EC groups revealed a significant improvement in the ejection fraction compared with the control group (p value Both ECs and MSCs were able to promote angiogenesis and improve cardiac function. Presumably, MSCs differentiate into ECs and cause angiogenesis as it occurs for ECs.