Cell therapy of acute myocardial infarction and ischemic cardiomyopathy: From experimental findings to clinical trials

Abstract

Rapid progress in cardiovascular cell biology and in stem cell research offers new therapeutic opportunities for patients with acute myocardial infarction or advanced chronic ischemic disease. During the past decade, the recognition of the inherent regenerative potential of the human heart and the discovery of novel cues to modulate intrinsic repair capacity using progenitor cells have transformed innovative therapies for patients with acute or chronic ischemic disease. In the aftermath of pioneering observations with mononuclear bone marrow cell injections documenting improved myocardial function recovery in the infarcted murine heart, more than thousand patients have been enrolled in early phase randomized clinical cell transfer studies.