Improvement of cardiac function by placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells does not require permanent engraftment and is independent of the insulin signaling pathway

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in a mouse model of myocardial infarction (MI). Since MSCs can be obtained from two different regions of the human term placenta (chorionic plate or villi), cells obtained from both these regions were compared so that the best candidate for cell therapy could be selected. METHODS: For the in vitro studies, chorionic plate MSCs (cp-MSCs) and chorionic villi MSCs (cv-MSCs) were extensively characterized for their genetic stability, clonogenic and differentiation potential, gene expression, and immunophenotype. For the in vivo studies, C57Bl/6 mice were submitted to MI and, after 21 days, received weekly intramyocardial injections of cp-MSCs for 3 weeks. Cells were also stably transduced with a viral construct expressing luciferase, under the control of the murine stem cell virus (MSCV) promoter, and were used in a bioluminescence assay. The expression of genes associated with the insulin signaling pathway was analyzed in the cardiac tissue from cp-MSCs and placebo groups. RESULTS: Morphology, differentiation, immunophenotype, and proliferation were quite similar between these cells. However, cp-MSCs had a greater clonogenic potential and higher expression of genes related to cell cycle progression and genome stability. Therefore, we considered that the chorionic plate was preferable to the chorionic villi for the isolation of MSCs. Sixty days after MI, cell-treated mice had a significant increase in ejection fraction and a reduction in end-systolic volume. This improvement was not caused by a reduction in infarct size. In addition, tracking of cp-MSCs transduced with luciferase revealed that cells remained in the heart for 4 days after the first injection but that the survival period was reduced after the second and third injections. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed similar expression of genes involved in the insulin signaling pathway when comparing cell-treated and placebo groups. CONCLUSIONS: Improvement of cardiac function by cp-MSCs did not require permanent engraftment and was not mediated by the insulin signaling pathway. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/scrt490) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.