BACKGROUND: Regenerative medicine has become increasingly important in recent years due to the possibility of certain cells to differentiate into different cell lines and thus recover the damaged tissue. The stem cell has emerged as an alternative treatment for diseases as a result of their ability to differentiate in more than 100 types of tissue. Bone marrow contains adult stem cells, hematopoietic and mesenchymal cells, which limit heart remodeling. METHODS: Nine dogs weighing between 25 and 30 kg were divided into three groups: intracoronary group, intramyocardial-transendocardial group and retrograde venous group. Mononuclear cells were collected from bone marrow by Ficoll density, stained with Hoechst fluorocrom and infused through the different routes mentioned above. RESULTS: It was observed that distribution of the cells was homogeneous from the epicardium to the endocardium in the right and left atrium and ventricle when the intracoronary route was used. With the transendocardial route the cells were more restricted to the infusion site, with a consequent larger number in the left ventricle. A similar distribution pattern was observed with retrograde venous infusion, however, cells did not reach the endocardial region. As to the number of cells distributed over the tissue, a significant difference (P < 0.01) was observed for the interaction between the infusion route versus region. CONCLUSION: We concluded that different cell delivery techniques may be used according to the different heart diseases.
Stem cells; Stem cell transplantation; Cell transplantation; Dogs
