ANGIOGENIC EFFECT OF AMNIOTIC MESENCHYMAL STEM CELL SPHEROID-DERIVED SECRETOME AS A CELL-FREE THERAPY IN CARDIAC REPAIR

Abstract

A myocardial infarction (MI) occurs when one of the coronary arteries of the heart is obstructed and induces necrosis and maladaptive cardiac remodeling. The native cardiomyocytes and cardiac vascular cells are unable to efficiently proliferate and repair the heart tissue after MI. Inevitably, patients suffering from MI develop heart failure, one of the leading causes of death worldwide with no curative therapies available. Many studies have investigated the use of stem cells for cardiac tissue regeneration, but dozens of clinical trials yielded low engraftment of injected cells and unreliable cardiomyocyte differentiation. More recently, the stem cell secretome has been shown to have regenerative properties. The secretome contains soluble factors such as proteins, microRNA, long-noncoding RNA involved in cell proliferation, angiogenesis and anti-apoptosis, while reducing tumorigenicity. Some of these factors are considered components in paracrine communication-mediated tissue regeneration.