Long-term angiogenesis efficacy using a heparin-conjugated fibrin (HCF) delivery system with HBM-MSCs

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Heparin-conjugated fibrin (HCF) is suitable for the release and localization of bFGF. We analyzed the effects of a bFGF delivery system using HCF with human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HBM- MSCs) in a dog ischemic limb model. Methods and Results: Animals were divided into HBM-MSCs, HBM-MSCs+HCF, bFGF-HCF, and HBM-MSCs+ bFGF-HCF groups. A total of 1×107 HBM-MSCs were injected per animal, and the amount of bFGF was 1 mg per dog. Ischemic muscles were harvested at eight weeks and six months after injection of cells. The HBM-MSCs+ bFGF-HCF group exhibited decreased proportions of capillaries and arterioles six months after transplantation. However, there were more cells positive for the angiogenic factors, VEGF and PDGF, in the eight-week specimens compared with those harvested six months after transplantation. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that a single injection of HBM-MSCs did not have significant long-term angiogenic effects; however, a bFGF delivery system using HCF exerted prolonged angiogenic effects when combined with HBM-MSCs.