Combined administration of mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing IGF-1 and HGF enhances neovascularization but moderately improves cardiac regeneration in a porcine model

Background Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) are among the most promising growth factors for promoting cardiorepair. Here, we evaluated the combination of cell- and gene-based therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) genetically modified to overexpress IGF-1 or HGF to treat acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a porcine model.