VEGF Sustained Delivery AugmentedCell Therapy Outcomes of Cardiac Progenitor Cells for Myocardial Infarction

Cell therapy has become a novel promising approach for improvement of cardiac functional capacity in the instances of ventricular remodeling and fibrosis caused by episodes of coronary artery occlusion and hypoxia. The challenge toward enhancing cell engraftment as well as formation of functional tissue, however, necessitated combinatorial approaches. Here, we complemented human embryonic stem cells-derived cardiac progenitor cells (hESC-CPC) therapy by heparin-conjugated, VEGF-loaded fibrin hydrogel as VEGF delivery system. Transplantation of this cardiac committed cells along with sustained VEGF release could surpass the cardiac repair effects of each constituent alone in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction. The histological sections of rat hearts revealed improved vascularization as well as inclusion of hESC-CPC-derived cardiomyocytes, endothelial and smooth muscle cells in host myocardium. Thus, co-transplantation of hESC-CPC and proangiogenic factor by a suitable delivery rate may resolve the shortcomings of conventional cell therapy.