Bone marrow stem cell imaging after intracoronary administration

Although feasibility and safety of autologous stem cells administration to the post-infarction heart has been proven it is not known what proportion of cells effectively do home at the damaged site. Therefore, we have labeled autologous bone marrow cells (ABMC's) by radioactive Indium and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) tissue distribution has been analyzed. It was detected that up to 10% of the cells were retained within the myocardium while their majority migrated or has been anchored at the spleen and liver. Comparing the number of homed cells to the total number of cells delivered one may postulate the indirect role for few hundred thousands ABMC's at heart regeneration.