Cell Therapy Improves Cardiac Function in Anthracycline-Induced Cardiomyopathy Preclinical Models: A Systematic...

Area of Science:

• Regenerative Medicine
• Cardiovascular Research
• Cancer Therapeutics

Background:

• Anthracycline (ANT)-based chemotherapy is vital for cancer survivorship but poses a risk of cardiotoxicity.
• Anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy (AIC) can lead to heart failure, necessitating myocardial regenerative strategies.
• Preclinical research is exploring cell therapy for AIC, but study heterogeneity obscures efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and meta-analyze experimental studies on cell therapy for AIC in animal models.
• To assess the efficacy of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) or bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNC) in improving cardiac function.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science (inception to Nov 2019).
• Inclusion of 22 studies with 381 small animals (rabbits, rodents) using MSC or BMMNC for AIC.
• Data extraction on study quality and echocardiographic measures (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF], fractional shortening [FS]); bias assessment using CAMARADES and SYRCLE tools.

Main Results:

• Cell therapy significantly increased LVEF by 9.87% (P < 0.00001) and FS by 7.80% (P < 0.00001) in small animals with AIC.
• Pooled analysis indicated that MSC/BMMNC therapy mitigates the adverse cardiac effects of ANT in preclinical settings.
• Significant heterogeneity among studies was noted, impacting the interpretation of results.

Conclusions:

• Cell therapy using MSC/BMMNC is effective in improving cardiac function in preclinical models of AIC.
• Further translational studies are required to address between-study discrepancies and clinical relevance.
• Standardized methodologies are crucial for future research to enhance the translatability of cell therapy for AIC.