Uterine-Derived CD11b Cells Significantly Increase Vasculogenesis and Promote Myocardial Healing in Ischemic Cardiomyopathy

• Published in: Cell transplantation Vol. 25; no. 9; pp. 1665 - 1674
• Main Authors: Hatta, Kota, Zhang, Yuemei, Wu, Jun, Sun, Zhou, Weisel, Richard D., Li, Ren-Ke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2016; Sage Publications Ltd; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; Animals; Cardiomyopathy; CD11b antigen; CD11b Antigen - metabolism; Cell Differentiation - genetics; Cell Differentiation - physiology; Cells, Cultured; Coronary artery disease; Female; Flow Cytometry; Heart diseases; Heart transplantation; Immunohistochemistry; Ischemia; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Myocardial Infarction - therapy; Myocardial Ischemia - therapy; Perfusion; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Recovery of function; Stem Cell Transplantation; Uterus; Uterus - cytology; Wound Healing - physiology; Heart failure; Angiogenesis; CD11b stem cells; Uterus; Ischemic cardiomyopathy
• ISSN: 0963-6897; 1555-3892
• DOI: 10.3727/096368915X690206

Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in industrialized countries. Cell transplantation could restore function of the ischemic heart likely through the mechanism of cell-induced angiogenesis. We have previously shown that cells isolated from uteri increase angiogenesis and alleviate cardiac dysfunction when transplanted after MI. However, which uterine cell type contributes to angiogenesis is unknown. Here we report that uterine-derived CD11b cells significantly increase vasculogenesis and promote myocardial healing in ischemic cardiomyopathy. We have established a novel and simple methodology for uterine CD11b cell isolation and enrichment and demonstrate that this technique can be used for purifying and establishing viable CD11b cell cultures in rats. The isolated fresh CD11b cells were transplanted into ischemic rat hearts 5 days after injury. Following transplantation, vasculogenesis significantly increased in ischemic cardiac tissue, which reduced infarct size and restored myocardial function and perfusion compared with controls. Thus, uterine CD11b cells have the potential to promote functional healing when implanted after ischemic cardiomyopathy. Importantly, we have demonstrated a novel means by which CD11b cells can be easily purified and cultured for cell transplantation.