Heal thyself: Potential applicability of stem cell therapy in the management of heart disease.
Acute myocardial infarction results in regional necrotic heart tissue that is considered irreversible. Although angioplasty and thrombolytic therapy can remove the offending atherosclerotic plaque and thrombi, both therapies are dependent upon timely recognition and initiation of treatment and thus have a limited window of opportunity. No currently available therapy has the capability to restore cardiomyocytes or to replace myocardial scar tissue with contractile tissue. In animal models, use of a wide range of cells such as fetal cardiomyocytes, skeletal myoblasts, and bone marrow stem cells have been shown to differentiate into functional cardiomyocytes. In addition, transplantation of adult stem cells directly into the area of infarction has shown clinical promise. This article explores the current data on extramedullary hematopoiesis, stem cell differentiation, and stem cell therapy and its ability to repair injured or ischemic cardiac tissue.
Yeo
Theresa Pluth
TP
The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. tyeo@son.jhmi.edu
D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology; D005544:Forecasting; D006411:Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009336:Necrosis; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D016207:Cytokines