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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Coronary Progenitor Cells and Soluble Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Prognosis after Coronary Angioplasty
Published on: January 28, 2020
Clinical determinants of ckit-positive cardiac cell yield in coronary disease
Koippallil G Aghila Rani1, Karunakaran Jayakumar, P Sankara Sarma
1Division of Cellular & Molecular Cardiology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum-695011, India.
Insights
Stem cell isolation from cardiac biopsies may be challenging in older patients. Age negatively impacts the number of ckit-positive cells, potentially limiting their use in cardiac regeneration therapy.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Stem Cell Biology
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Heart-resident ckit-positive stem cells show potential for regenerating infarcted myocardium.
- The factors influencing successful isolation of these stem cells remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors and disease severity on isolating ckit-positive stem cells from patient atrial tissue.
- To identify determinants for successful stem cell yield in cardiac biopsies.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of right atrial tissue from patients with coronary artery disease.
- Assessment of ckit-positive cell isolation success rates.
- Correlation analysis between patient demographics, CAD risk factors, disease severity, and stem cell yield.
Main Results:
- Coronary artery disease and cardiac remodeling in chronic ischemia did not significantly affect the yield of ckit-positive cells.
- A significant negative correlation was observed between patient age and the number of migrated ckit-positive cells.
- Stem cell isolation success may be compromised in older individuals.
Conclusions:
- While CAD itself may not hinder stem cell isolation from atrial tissue, patient age is a critical limiting factor.
- Older patients may have insufficient numbers of ckit-positive cells for successful isolation and subsequent cell therapy.
- Further research is needed to optimize stem cell isolation protocols for elderly populations.
Abstract:
Recent animal studies and clinical trials have reported the scope of heart-resident ckit-positive stem cells in regenerating infarcted myocardium. The determinants of successful isolation of such cells are unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of risk factors for coronary artery disease and disease severity on the successful isolation of ckit-positive cells from right atrial tissue of patients with coronary artery disease. The findings suggest that coronary artery disease and cardiac remodeling in chronic ischemia may not affect the yield of ckit-positive cells from atrial tissue, but a significant negative correlation between the age of the patient and the number of migrated ckit-positive cells was observed. This suggests that in older patients, stem cell isolation from cardiac biopsies may not succeed, and such cells may not be available for cell therapy.
