Chorion-derived perinatal mesenchymal stem cells improve cardiac function and vascular regeneration: Preferential treatment for ischemic heart disease

Background: Stem cell therapy has emerged as a novel treatment for heart failure after myocardial infarction (Ml). Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are commonly considered because of their accessibility and usability. However, their therapeutic potential remains controversial. In our previous in vitro study, chorion-derived mesenchymal stem cells (C-MSCs) and umbilical cord -derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) demonstrated an ability to differentiate into car-diomyocytes and neural cells, respectively. Thus, we examined whether C-MSCs had a better differen-tiation potential in an MI animal model. Methods: MI was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending artery, and DiI-labeled MSCs were injected into the border of the infarcted myocardium. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and fractional shortening (FS) were measured using echocardiograms. Masson's Trichrome staining was performed to evaluate the viable myocardium. Alpha-sarcomeric actin (a-SA), cardiac troponin-T (cTnT), and isolectin were immunolabeled to evaluate differentiation and capillary formation. Results: After 8 weeks, the LVEF and FS significantly increased to a greater extent in the C-MSC-injected group with maintenance of viable myocardium, as compared to in the control, UC-MSC-, and BM-MSC -injected groups (p < 0.05). Compared to UC-MSCs and BM-MSCs, C-MSCs significantly increased the capillary density (p < 0.05) and demonstrated higher expressions of cTnT and a-SA. Conclusions: In conclusion, compared to UC-MSCs and BM-MSCs, C-MSCs showed a better therapeutic efficacy in a rat MI model. (c) 2022 Hellenic Society of Cardiology. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study found that compared to umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs), chorion-derived mesenchymal stem cells (C-MSCs) showed better therapeutic efficacy in a rat myocardial infarction (MI) model, promoting cardiomyocyte differentiation and capillary formation.