TY - JOUR
T1 - Amniotic membrane patching promotes ischemic rat heart repair
AU - Cargnoni, Anna
AU - Di Marcello, Marco
AU - Campagnol, Marino
AU - Nassuato, Claudia
AU - Albertini, Alberto
AU - Parolini, Ornella
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - The amniotic membrane has long been applied for wound healing and treatment of ophthalmological disorders, even though the mechanisms underlying its actions remain to be clarified. Recently, cells derived from fetal membranes of human term placenta have raised strong interest in regenerative medicine for their stem cell potential and immunomodulatory features. Our study aimed to investigate the possible utility of amniotic membrane to limit postischemic cardiac injury. A fragment of human amniotic membrane was applied onto the left ventricle of rats that had undergone ischemia through left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. Echocardiographic assessment of morphological and functional cardiac parameters was then performed over a 3-month period. We demonstrated that application of an amniotic membrane fragment onto ischemic rat hearts could significantly reduce postischemic cardiac dysfunction. The amniotic membrane-treated rats showed higher preservation of cardiac dimensions and improved cardiac contractile function in terms of higher left ventricle ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and wall thickening. These improvements were apparent by day 7 after application of the amniotic membrane, persisted for at least 2 months, and occurred independently of cardiac injury severity. No engraftment of amniotic cells was detected into host cardiac tissues. Our results suggest that use of amniotic membrane may constitute a convenient vehicle for supplying cells that produce cardioprotective soluble factors, and reinforce the notion that this tissue constitutes a cell source with clinical potential that has yet to be completely revealed.
AB - The amniotic membrane has long been applied for wound healing and treatment of ophthalmological disorders, even though the mechanisms underlying its actions remain to be clarified. Recently, cells derived from fetal membranes of human term placenta have raised strong interest in regenerative medicine for their stem cell potential and immunomodulatory features. Our study aimed to investigate the possible utility of amniotic membrane to limit postischemic cardiac injury. A fragment of human amniotic membrane was applied onto the left ventricle of rats that had undergone ischemia through left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. Echocardiographic assessment of morphological and functional cardiac parameters was then performed over a 3-month period. We demonstrated that application of an amniotic membrane fragment onto ischemic rat hearts could significantly reduce postischemic cardiac dysfunction. The amniotic membrane-treated rats showed higher preservation of cardiac dimensions and improved cardiac contractile function in terms of higher left ventricle ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and wall thickening. These improvements were apparent by day 7 after application of the amniotic membrane, persisted for at least 2 months, and occurred independently of cardiac injury severity. No engraftment of amniotic cells was detected into host cardiac tissues. Our results suggest that use of amniotic membrane may constitute a convenient vehicle for supplying cells that produce cardioprotective soluble factors, and reinforce the notion that this tissue constitutes a cell source with clinical potential that has yet to be completely revealed.
KW - Amniotic membrane
KW - Amniotic patch
KW - Cardiac repair
KW - Myocardial infarction
KW - Placenta
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=75149135306&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=75149135306&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3727/096368909X12483162196764
DO - 10.3727/096368909X12483162196764
M3 - Article
C2 - 19650976
AN - SCOPUS:75149135306
VL - 18
SP - 1147
EP - 1159
JO - Cell Transplantation
JF - Cell Transplantation
SN - 0963-6897
IS - 10-11
ER -