Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease: Progress and Challenges.

ABSTRACT: Administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to diseased hearts improves cardiac function and reduces scar size. These effects occur via the stimulation of endogenous repair mechanisms, including regulation of immune responses, tissue perfusion, inhibition of fibrosis, and proliferation of resident cardiac cells, although rare events of transdifferentiation into cardiomyocytes and vascular components are also described in animal models. While these improvements demonstrate the potential of stem cell therapy, the goal of full cardiac recovery has yet to be realized in either preclinical or clinical studies. To reach this goal, novel cell-based therapeutic approaches are needed. Ongoing studies include cell combinations, incorporation of MSCs into biomaterials, or pre-conditioning or gene

SUBMITTER: Bagno L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6037203 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature