Antioxidants improve early survival of cardiomyoblasts after transplantation to the myocardium.
OBJECTIVE
We tested the hypothesis that modulation of the microenvironment (using antioxidants) will increase stem cell survival in hypoxia and after transplantation to the myocardium.


METHODS
Rat cardiomyoblasts were stably transfected with a reporter gene (firefly luciferase) for bioluminescence imaging (BLI). First, we examined the role of oxidative stress in cells under hypoxic conditions. Subsequently, stem cells were transplanted to the myocardium of rats using high-resolution ultrasound, and their survival was monitored daily using BLI.


RESULTS
Under hypoxia, oxidative stress was increased together with decreased cell survival compared to control cells, both of which were preserved by antioxidants. In living subjects, oxidative stress blockade increased early cell survival after transplantation to the myocardium, compared to untreated cells/animals.


CONCLUSIONS
Modulation of the local microenvironment (with antioxidants) improves stem cell survival. Increased understanding of the interaction between stem cells and their microenvironment will be critical to advance the field of regenerative medicine.
Rodriguez-Porcel
Martin
M
Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA. rodriguez.m@mayo.edu
Gheysens
Olivier
O
Paulmurugan
Ramasamy
R
Chen
Ian Y
IY
Peterson
Karen M
KM
Willmann
Jürgen K
JK
Wu
Joseph C
JC
Zhu
Xiangyang
X
Lerman
Lilach O
LO
Gambhir
Sanjiv S
SS
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D015687:Cell Hypoxia / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D032446:Myoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000637:transplantation*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000637:transplantation*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014465:Ultrasonics
D000975:Antioxidants