A novel method for isolation of endothelial progenitor cells for cardiac stem cell therapy

Background: One of the cell sources valuable for cardiac stem cell therapy is endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) because of their favourable properties These cells may contribute to neoangiogenesis and regenerate infarcted myocardium In the previous study, a rapid and efficient method was established for direct isolation of EPCs from porcine bone marrow Aim: To examine the influence of aptamer-isolated EPCs in vivo on vascularization and cardiac function Material and methods: Immediately after obtaining bone marrow or peripheral blood from healthy pigs endothelial progenitor cells were isolated The EPCs were incubated with Dynabeads (R), which were coated either with aptamer or CD 31 antibodies. Subsequently myocardial ischaemia was induced and then the groups were treated with either aptamer-isolated EPCs or antibody-isolated EPCs LVEF was quantified by echocardiography After four weeks, histological examinations were assessed Results: The group receiving aptamer-isolated EPCs demonstrated significantly more large-sized capillaries than the other groups (p <= 0 05) Four weeks after myocardial infarction, the change in LVEF did not show any significance within or between all four groups Conclusions: Our results showed that transplantation of aptamer-isolated EPCs after myocardial infarction improves angiogenesis This new therapeutic method may bring greater efficacy of cellular cardiomyoplasty after myocardial infarction.