Differential myocardial infarct repair with muscle stem cells compared to myoblasts

Myoblast transplantation for cardiac repair has generated beneficial results in both animals and humans; however, poor viability and poor engraftment of myoblasts after implantation in vivo limit their regeneration capacity. We and others have identified and isolated a subpopulation of skeletal muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) that regenerate skeletal muscle more effectively than myoblasts. Here we report that in comparison with a myoblast population, MDSCs implanted into infarcted hearts displayed greater and more persistent engraftment, induced more neoangiogenesis through graft expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, prevented cardiac remodeling, and elicited significant improvements in cardiac function. MDSCs also exhibited a greater ability to resist oxidative stress-induced apoptosis compared to myoblasts, which may partially explain the improved engraftment of MDSCs. These findings indicate that MDSCs constitute an alternative to other myogenic cells for use in cardiac repair applications.