Cardiac cell transplant studies show promise in cardiac tissue repair

Two studies published in the current issue of CELL TRANSPLANTATION (17:6) examine the efficacy of transplanting bone marrow cells (BMCs) for the repair of heart tissue. The first study found that implanting adult cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) in combination with BMCs has two advantages over transplanting cardiomyocytes alone. First, while cardiac function was preserved by implanting cardiomyocytes alone, the therapeutic effects of transplanting them along with bone marrow cells was enhanced. Second, programmed cell death (apoptosis) of the host cardiomyocytes was reduced significantly after the implantation of BMCs alone or in combination with cardiomyocytes when compared with...

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