Second Generation Cardiac Cell Therapy: Combining Cardiac Stem Cells and Circulating Angiogenic Cells for the Treatment of Ischemic Heart Disease

Blood-derived circulatory angiogenic cells (CACs) and resident cardiac stem cells (CSCs) have both been shown to improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction (MI) but the superiority of either cell type has long been an area of speculation with no definitive head-to-head trial. In this study, we compared the paracrine profile of human CACs and CSCs, alone or in combination. We characterized the therapeutic ability of these cells to salvage myocardial function in an immunodeficient mouse model of MI by transplanting these cells as both single and dual cell therapies seven days after experimental anterior wall MI. CACs and CSCs demonstrated unique paracrine repertoires with equivalent effects on angiogenesis, stem cell migration and myocardial repair. Combination therapy with both cell types synergistically improves post infarct myocardial function greater than either therapy alone. This synergy is likely mediated by the complementary paracrine signatures that promote revascularization and the growth of new myocardium