Recirculating delivery improves myocardial cell engraftment

Abstract

Introduction: Despite pharmacological advances for heart failure, morbidity and mortality remain unacceptably high. As a result, alternative approaches such as cell therapy have been suggested to hold potential promise. However, a major obstacle is the optimization of cell delivery to the heart. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of a percutaneous recirculation system for the delivery of cells to the heart. Methods: Ovine fibroblasts were delivered to the ovine heart (3 × 107 cells) using the V-Focus system, a "closed" recirculatory system that draws blood from the coronary sinus and returns it to the coronary artery via an oxygenator, or intracoronary (IC) infusion, followed by a 2-hour recovery period. Animals were euthanized and cardiac tissue collected to determine presence of cells. Results: There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the number of cells delivered to the heart by the V-Focus compared to direct coronary infusion for left ventricular freewall (V-Focus 1.39 ± 0.63/mm2, IC 0.11 ± 0.06/mm2), septum (V-Focus 3.18 ± 0.88/mm2, IC 0.38 ± 0.19/mm2), and right ventricle (V-Focus 0.46 ± 0.23/mm2, IC 0.05 ± 0.04/mm2). Conclusions: These results suggest that potential therapeutic cells are optimally delivered to the large animal heart using the V-Focus cardiac delivery system in an ovine heart. © 2009, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.