title: A promising technique for transplantation of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells into rat heart.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the feasibility of intracoronary application of endothelial progenitor cells and the subsequent distribution within the heart.
  
  
  METHODS
  Endothelial progenitors cells (EPCs) cultured from rat bone marrow were identified by double-positive staining with Dil-Ac-LDL and BS1-lectin. Twenty-four hours before cell transplantation, EPCs were labeled with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU). Cells (5 x 10(5) in 250-microl medium) were injected into healthy rats, either as intracoronary application (n=11) or as intramyocardial injection (n = 6). At 15 min or 3 days posttransplantation, hearts as well as other organs (lung, liver, kidney, and spleen) were collected and processed for subsequent BrdU immunohistochemistry. The number of BrdU-positive cells per tissue area was counted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to intramyocardial injection, intracoronary administration resulted in more than twice as much positive cells in the heart (P < .05), with no local differences within the heart. Whereas after 15 min, EPCs were equally distributed in all examined organs (except for the spleen), cells that were still present after 3 days, approximately 10%, were selectively restricted to the heart.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data indicate that the intracoronary application provides a promising technique for EPC transplantation in the rat heart.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: René A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Tio
authors.forename: Anton J M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Roks
authors.forename: Kristien M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Boddeus
authors.forename: Martin C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Harmsen
authors.forename: Wiek H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: van Gilst
authors.forename: Regien G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Schoemaker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine / Q000378:metabolism; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D002452:Cell Count; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000601:surgery*; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology; D008297:Male; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine