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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
Cell-based Therapy for Heart Failure in Rat: Double Thoracotomy for Myocardial Infarction and Epicardial Implantation of Cells and Biomatrix
Published on: September 22, 2014
Cell therapy for left ventricular remodeling
Doris A Taylor1, Andrey G Zenovich
1Department of Integrative Biology/Physiology, University of Minnesota, 312 Church Street SE, 7-105A Nils Hasselmo Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. dataylor@umn.edu
Insights
Cell transplantation shows promise for heart failure (HF) patients, but varied study designs hinder progress. Standardized trials and data registries are crucial for advancing cell-based therapies to improve quality of life.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology and Regenerative Medicine
- Investigating novel cell-based therapies for cardiovascular diseases
Background:
- Rising heart failure (HF) incidence and patient longevity necessitate improved treatments for left ventricular remodeling.
- Previous cell transplantation studies (skeletal myoblasts, bone marrow mononuclear cells) in over 200 HF patients yielded mixed results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To address the need for standardized approaches in cell-based therapies for heart failure.
- To improve the efficacy and safety of cell transplantation for treating left ventricular remodeling.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing safety/feasibility studies of cell transplantation in heart failure patients.
- Identification of critical factors hindering comparative analysis: patient populations, cell types, dosing, timing, delivery methods, and outcome measures.
Main Results:
- Early studies demonstrated potential symptomatic and functional improvements but also raised safety concerns.
- Significant heterogeneity across trials makes direct comparisons and definitive conclusions difficult.
Conclusions:
- Establishment of a central patient registry is essential for tracking cell-treated individuals.
- Standardized trial designs and agreed-upon outcome measures are required for robust comparisons.
- Direct, side-by-side comparisons of different cell types in similar HF patient groups are needed to advance clinical application.
Abstract:
The increasing longevity of patients with heart failure (HF) and the rise in the incidence of HF has created an urgent need to effectively treat and prevent left ventricular remodeling. Within the past 6 years, skeletal myoblast and bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation have been undertaken in over 200 patients with HF, geared to the underlying injury, not just its mechanisms. Early safety/feasibility studies showed promising but somewhat conflicting secondary symptomatic and functional improvements, and safety concerns have arisen. However, the patient population, cell type, dose, time, mode of delivery, and outcome measures differed-making comparisons problematic. It is now time to: 1) create a central registry of all patients treated with cells; 2) perform side-by-side comparisons of different types of cells in patients with similar HF states; 3) agree on standardized trial designs; and 4) define acceptable and unacceptable outcomes (and measures) compared with both standard of care and to other emerging therapies. By doing so, we can avoid the pitfalls that previous biologics (eg, angiogenic gene therapy) have suffered, increase the likelihood of success, shorten the time-to-presentation of cell-based algorithms to clinicians, and deliver these therapies to patients who await new ways of reduction of symptoms and improvement of quality of life.
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