Abstract
Cellular transplantation for cardiac repair has emerged as an exciting treatment option for patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure. Animal models of post-infarction left ventricular remodeling have demonstrated an improvement in left ventricular (LV) function, decrease in scar size, and amelioration of adverse cardiac remodeling after stem cell transplantation. These beneficial effects occur despite minimal engraftment and negligible differentiation of transplanted cells. Evidence of the heart capability to self-renew continues to mount; however, the extent to which this occurs is still unclear. Although there is a specific population of cardiac stem cells capable of differentiating into cardiomyocytes, they alone are not capable of fully regenerating tissue damaged by MI. Therefore, paracrine mechanisms may be responsible for activating endogenous stem cells to promote regeneration and prevent apoptosis. These structural beneficial effects may reduce regional wall stresses, consequently leading to long-term host myocardium gene/protein expression changes, which may subsequently result in improvement in LV function.