Anoxic preconditioning: A way to enhance the cardioprotection of mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract Objective We hypothesized that anoxic preconditioning (AP) could enhance the cardioprotective effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Methods Myocardial infarction (MI) was set up in Sprague–Dawley rats and left ventricles were randomly injected with the following: DMEM, MSCs and AP-MSCs. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography 4 weeks after transplantation, hematoxylin–eosin staining and Masson trichrome were performed subsequently. Results Increased fractional shortening, ejection fraction and decreased infarct size were observed most obviously in AP-MSCs group, accompanied by increased arteriole density and cell survival. Conclusions AP enhanced the capacity of MSCs to repair infarcted myocardium, attributable to increased cell survival and angiogenesis.