Europace. 2007 Dec;9(12):1218-21. Epub 2007 Oct 18.

Fotuhi P, Song YH, Alt E.

Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.

Abstract

AIMS: Aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intracoronary administration of freshly isolated adipose-derived mononuclear cells (ADMCs) on myocardial vulnerability to arrhythmia induction after infarction.

METHODS AND RESULTS: A transmural myocardial infarction in an experimental porcine model was induced by occlusion of the mid-left anterior descending artery with an angioplasty balloon for 3 h. Upon reperfusion, a cellular suspension with freshly isolated ADMCs (1.5 x 10(6) cells/kg BW) or vehicle alone was injected into the infarct artery. All animals underwent a programmed ventricular stimulation at 8 weeks follow-up for possible induction of ventricular arrhythmias using a train of 8 S1 stimuli. Cell injections did not cause acute ventricular arrhythmia, bradycardia, or conduction block. The cycle length of the ventricular arrhythmia was compared at 1 and 10 s following its induction. Despite comparable infarct size in both groups, we found that the cycle length of the induced ventricular arrhythmia in the ADMC-treated group was significantly longer compared with control animals (P < 0.05). We also found that extra-stimuli were required for arrhythmia induction in the ADMC-treated group compared with control animals.

CONCLUSION: Freshly isolated autologous stem cell therapy is not proarrhythmic in pigs.

PMID: 17951268 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]