Results of a prospective observational study of autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cell therapy for no-option critical limb-threatening ischemia and severe diabetic foot ulcers

BACKGROUND: Cell therapy with autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB-MNCs) may help restore limb perfusion in patients with diabetes mellitus and critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) deemed not eligible for revascularization procedures and consequently at risk for major amputation (no-option). Fundamental is to establish its clinical value and to identify candidates with a greater benefit over time. Assessing the frequency of PB circulating angiogenic cells and extracellular vesicles (EVs) may help in guiding candidate selection. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, non-controlled, observational study on no-option CLTI diabetic patients that underwent intramuscular PB-MNCs therapy, which consisted of more cell treatments repeated a maximum of three times. The primary endpoint was amputation rate at 1 year following the first treatment with PB-MNCs. We evaluated ulcer healing, walking capability, and mortality during the follow-up period. We assessed angiogenic cells and EVs at baseline and after each cell treatment, according to primary outcome and tissue perfusion at the last treatment [measured as transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO(2))]. RESULTS: 50 patients were consecutively enrolled and the primary endpoint was 16%. TcPO(2) increased after PB-MNCs therapy (17.2 ± 11.6 vs 39.1 ± 21.8 mmHg, p < .0001), and ulcers healed with back-to-walk were observed in 60% of the study population (88% of survivors) during follow-up (median 1.5 years). Patients with a high level of TcPO(2) (≥ 40 mmHg) after the last treatment showed a high frequency of small EVs at enrollment. CONCLUSIONS: In no-option CLTI diabetic patients, PB-MNCs therapy led to an improvement in tissue perfusion, a high rate of healing, and back-to-walk. Coupling circulating cellular markers of angiogenesis could help in the identification of patients with a better clinical benefit over time. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12933-022-01629-y.