Amniotic Membrane Patching Promotes Ischemic Rat Heart Repair
- 1 October 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Cell Transplantation
- Vol. 18 (10-11), 1147-1159
- https://doi.org/10.3727/096368909x12483162196764
Abstract
The amniotic membrane has long been applied for wound healing and treatment of ophthalmological disorders, even though the mechanisms underlying its actions remain to be clarified. Recently, cells derived from fetal membranes of human term placenta have raised strong interest in regenerative medicine for their stem cell potential and immunomodulatory features. Our study aimed to investigate the possible utility of amniotic membrane to limit postischemic cardiac injury. A fragment of human amniotic membrane was applied onto the left ventricle of rats that had undergone ischemia through left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. Echocardiographic assessment of morphological and functional cardiac parameters was then performed over a 3-month period. We demonstrated that application of an amniotic membrane fragment onto ischemic rat hearts could significantly reduce postischemic cardiac dysfunction. The amniotic membrane-treated rats showed higher preservation of cardiac dimensions and improved cardiac contractile function in terms of higher left ventricle ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and wall thickening. These improvements were apparent by day 7 after application of the amniotic membrane, persisted for at least 2 months, and occurred independently of cardiac injury severity. No engraftment of amniotic cells was detected into host cardiac tissues. Our results suggest that use of amniotic membrane may constitute a convenient vehicle for supplying cells that produce cardioprotective soluble factors, and reinforce the notion that this tissue constitutes a cell source with clinical potential that has yet to be completely revealed.Keywords
This publication has 53 references indexed in Scilit:
- Transplantation of Allogeneic and Xenogeneic Placenta-Derived Cells Reduces Bleomycin-Induced Lung FibrosisCell Transplantation, 2009
- Engraftment potential of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells after in utero transplantation in ratsHuman Reproduction, 2008
- Isolation of amniotic stem cell lines with potential for therapyNature Biotechnology, 2007
- Cellular Cardiomyoplasty: Improvement of Left Ventricular Function Correlates with the Release of Cardioactive CytokinesThe International Journal of Cell Cloning, 2006
- Cardiac stem cells delivered intravascularly traverse the vessel barrier, regenerate infarcted myocardium, and improve cardiac functionProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2005
- Engraftment Potential of Human Amnion and Chorion Cells Derived from Term PlacentaTransplantation, 2004
- Thymosin β4 activates integrin-linked kinase and promotes cardiac cell migration, survival and cardiac repairNature, 2004
- The amniotic membrane in ophthalmologySurvey of Ophthalmology, 2004
- Direct cell-cell interaction of cardiomyocytes is key for bone marrow stromal cells to go into cardiac lineage in vitroThe Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 2003
- Cytokine secretion by human fetal membranes, decidua and placenta at termHuman Reproduction, 1998