Abstract
Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) increase capillary density and reduce fibrosis in rodents after myocardial infarction, resulting in an overall improvement in left ventricular function. Little is known about the effectiveness of BMMNC therapy in hypertensive heart disease. In the current study, we show that delivery of BMMNCs from hypertension protected SS-13(BN)/MCWi donor rats, but not BMMNC from hypertension susceptible SS/MCWi donor rats, resulted in 57.2 and 83.4% reductions in perivascular and interstitial fibrosis, respectively, as well as a 60% increase in capillary-to-myocyte count in the left ventricles (LV) of hypertensive SS/MCWi recipients. These histological changes were associated with improvements in LV compliance and relaxation (103 and 46.4% improvements, respectively). Furthermore, improved diastolic function in hypertensive SS/MCWi rats receiving SS-13(BN)/MCWi derived BMMNCs was associated with lower clinical indicators of heart failure, including reductions in end diastolic pressure (65%) and serum brain natriuretic peptide levels (49.9%) with no improvements observed in rats receiving SS/MCWi BMMNCs. SS/MCWi rats had a lower percentage of endothelial progenitor cells in their bone marrow relative to SS-13(BN)/MCWi rats. These results suggest that administration of BMMNCs can prevent or reverse pathological remodeling in hypertensive heart disease, which contributes to ameliorating diastolic dysfunction and associated symptomology. Furthermore, the health and hypertension susceptibility of the BMMNC donor are important factors influencing therapeutic efficacy, possibly via differences in the cellular composition of bone marrow.