title: Cell therapy for the treatment of chronic ischemic heart disease.
abstract: Over the last decade, much was learned about the biology of several types of stem and progenitor cells. It has become apparent that various cell sources may have the capacity to promote cardiomyogenesis and new blood vessel formation through different mechanisms, forming the rationale for cell-based therapy in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease. After initial clinical studies have provided evidence for safety of cell administration, larger randomized trials demonstrated variable effects on myocardial perfusion and contractile performance. Although cell-based therapy is a promising strategy for the treatment of myocardial disease, many questions remain to be answered with respect to the optimal cell type, delivery route and mechanism of action in order to improve the outcome of cardiac cell therapy. This paper aims to provide an overview of the methods available to apply cell-based therapy in chronic ischemic myocardial disease. The different cell types that have been tested in (pre)clinical trials and their proposed mechanism of action will be discussed, along with the possible routes of cell delivery. Furthermore, the experience from experimental and clinical studies will be summarized, and innovative strategies to enhance the efficacy of cell therapy, for example by improving cell retention and survival, will be reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Post office box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sander F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.forename: Jan van
authors.initials: Jv
authors.lastname: Ramshorst
authors.forename: Saskia L M A
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Beeres
authors.forename: Jeroen J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bax
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Schalij
authors.forename: Douwe E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Atsma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000628:therapy*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome