Application of Stem Cells in Ischemic Heart Disease

It is evident that the limited capacity of regeneration and proliferation of human cardiomyocytes can prevent neither the scar formation that occurs after myocardial infarction (MI) nor the loss of heart function occurring in patients with cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Replacement and regeneration of functional cardiac muscle is an important goal that could be achieved either by stimulation of autologous resident cardiomyocytes or by the transplantation of allogenic cells. Transplanted satellite stem cells (myoblasts) from skeletal muscle can successfully home and engraft within a damaged myocardium, preventing progressive ventricular dilatation and improving cardiac function. It is important to point out that bone marrow contains several stem cell populations with overlapping phenotypes, including hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), endothelial stem/precursor cells (EPCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPss). This chapter provides a brief comparison of the advantages and limitations of the cell types presently used in cardiac transplantation.