Human umbilical cord blood cells improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction

Human umbilical cord blood (UCB) contains an abundance of immature stem/progenitor cells and has been clinically used as an alternative to bone marrow transplantation. In addition, cord blood can be obtained non-invasively, in contrast to invasive bone marrow aspiration. We investigated the potential of human UCB CD34+ cells to improve cardiac function following myocardial infarction. Myocardial infarction was induced in Wistar rats by ligation of the left coronary artery. Either 2 × 105 human UCB CD34+ cells or equivalent cell-free medium was injected into the injured myocardium of the rats following induction of myocardial infarction. CD34+ cell transplantation significantly improved ventricular function as compared to the control group. Immunofluorescence staining for human CD34, CD45, and PECAM-1 revealed surviving cells in the myocardium. Our findings suggest that transplanted human cells survived and improved cardiac function following myocardial infarction. These results may show the usefulness of UCB CD34+ cells for myocardial infarction.