Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Bone Marrow Transplantation Procedures in Mice to Study Clonal Hematopoiesis
Published on: May 26, 2021
Transplanted bone marrow cells repair heart tissue and reduce myocarditis in chronic chagasic mice
Milena B P Soares1, Ricardo S Lima, Leonardo L Rocha
1Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
Insights
Bone marrow cell transplantation effectively treats chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy in mice. This therapy reduced heart inflammation and fibrosis, offering hope for a new treatment for Chagas disease patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Immunology
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 30% of infected individuals and lacks effective treatments.
- Bone marrow cell transplantation has shown promise in repairing heart damage in other cardiac conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of bone marrow cell transplantation in a mouse model of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy.
- To assess the impact of bone marrow cells on cardiac inflammation, fibrosis, and cell death in the context of Trypanosoma cruzi infection.
Main Methods:
- Intravenous injection of bone marrow cells into mice with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy.
- Evaluation of cardiac tissue for inflammatory infiltrates, interstitial fibrosis, and apoptosis up to 6 months post-transplantation.
- Comparison of effects using bone marrow cells from both infected and normal mice.
Main Results:
- Transplanted bone marrow cells migrated to the heart, significantly reducing inflammation and interstitial fibrosis.
- Beneficial effects, including reduced cardiac damage, were sustained for up to 6 months.
- A significant increase in the apoptosis of myocardial inflammatory cells was observed following bone marrow cell therapy.
- Bone marrow cells from both infected and normal mice demonstrated similar therapeutic effects.
Conclusions:
- Bone marrow cell transplantation is an effective treatment for chronic chagasic myocarditis.
- Autologous bone marrow transplantation presents a potential therapeutic strategy for patients suffering from chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy.
Abstract:
A progressive destruction of the myocardium occurs in approximately 30% of Trypanosoma cruzi-infected individuals, causing chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy, a disease so far without effective treatment. Syngeneic bone marrow cell transplantation has been shown to cause repair and improvement of heart function in a number of studies in patients and animal models of ischemic cardiopathy. The effects of bone marrow transplant in a mouse model of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy, in the presence of the disease causal agent, ie, the T. cruzi, are described herein. Bone marrow cells injected intravenously into chronic chagasic mice migrated to the heart and caused a significant reduction in the inflammatory infiltrates and in the interstitial fibrosis characteristics of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy. The beneficial effects were observed up to 6 months after bone marrow cell transplantation. A massive apoptosis of myocardial inflammatory cells was observed after the therapy with bone marrow cells. Transplanted bone marrow cells obtained from chagasic mice and from normal mice had similar effects in terms of mediating chagasic heart repair. These results show that bone marrow cell transplantation is effective for treatment of chronic chagasic myocarditis and indicate that autologous bone marrow transplant may be used as an efficient therapy for patients with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy.
