Aim: In this study, we investigated whether transplantation of allogeneic fetal membrane (FM)-mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) sheets could attenuate myocardial dysfunction in myocardial infarction (MI) model of rat and mini-pig.
Methods and Results: Allogeneic FM-MSC sheet or autologous bone marrow (BM)-MSC sheet stacked to two layers were transplanted onto the scarred myocardium 4 week after coronary ligation in Lewis rats. From the first day until 4 weeks after transplantation, both GFP-positive FM-MSCs and BM-MSCs were engrafted in the heart. Four weeks after transplantation, both FM-derived and BM-derived sheets significantly reversed wall thinning in the scar area and improved cardiac function. However, allogeneic FM-MSC sheet transplantation failed to improve cardiac function 3 months after transplantation in the mini-pig MI model.
Conclusions: Similar to autologous BM-MSC, allogeneic FM-MSC sheet transplantation attenuated myocardial dysfunction in the rat model of MI. However, it could not show any therapeutic effects in the mini-pig model. Therefore, the improvement of therapeutic performances of MSC sheet transplantation might be necessary for the treatment of MI.