Advances Is Mesenchymal Stem Cell Application for Cardiovascular Disease Treatment

Novel strategies are developed to optimize MSC function. Among them genetic modification is a promising solution to improve cell survival/engraftment after transplantation as well as to enhance cardioprotective function. Following genetic modification are described: Bcl-2, CREG, Hsp20, Akt, PI3K-2α, ILK, periostin, CXCR4, TNFR, Ang1, VEGF, Wnt11. HO-1, GSK-3β, IGF-1, SDF-1, GATA-4. Pharmacological optimization or preconditioned media are also investigated to overcome current limitation in stem cell therapy. Pharmacological agent pretreatment strategy covered in this chapter includes application of diazoxide, estradiol, lysophosphatidic acid, lovastatin, oxytocin, phorbol myristate acetate, tadalafil, trimetazidine. Cytokine and growth factor pretreatment discussed below includes stromal-derived factor 1 alpha, angiopoietin-1, insulin-like growth factor-1, transforming growth factor-α, bone morphogenetic protein-2, fibroblast growth factor-2 and insulin-like growth factor-1 cocktail, interleukin-1β and transforming growth factor-β combination. Moreover, application of including injectable hydrogels are presented including cell containing injectable biomaterials, acellular scaffolds with incorporated bio-agents, and co-application of cells and bio-agents