Poly-(l-lactic acid) sheets seeded with diaphragmatic myoblasts overexpressing connexin 43 as a potential strategy for myocardial regeneration

GIMÉNEZ CARLOS SEBASTIÁN; OLEA DANIELA; LOCATELLI PAOLA; BAUZÁ MARIA DEL ROSARIO; ORLOWSKI, ALEJANDRO; AIELLO ERNESTO ALEJANDRO; DE LORENZI ANDREA; CASTILLO MARTHA GIOVANNA; DEWEY RICARDO; MONTINI BALLARIN FLORENCIA; ABRAHAM GUSTAVO; CUNIBERTI LUIS; CROTTOGINI ALBERTO

Buenos Aires

Congreso; Reunión conjunta de sociedades de biociencias; 2017

Introduction.The diaphragm contracts and relaxes 20 times per minute over a lifespan. Besides, it is a source of muscle stem cells (myoblasts) capable of dividing, differentiating and self-regenerating preserving their phenotype. This makes diaphragmatic myoblasts (DM) a potential candidate for cell-based cardiac regeneration. Methods. To test this hypothesis, we seeded DM modified to overexpress connexin 43 (cx43) on poly-(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) sheets and sutured them on the infarcted zone of sheep undergoing coronary ligation (PLLA-DMcx43 group, n=6). DM were transduced with cx43 to enhance inter-cell connection. Additional sheep received PLLA sheets with non-modified DM (PLLA-DM group, n=6), PLLA without DM (PLLA group, n=6) or no treatment (Placebo, n=6). LV ejection fraction (Fey) (echocardiography) and infarct size (cardiac magnetic resonance) were measured at 2 and 45 days post-AMI. Results: Infarct size decreased by ~25% in PLLA-MDcx43 [8.7±0.6ml (day 2) to 6.5±0.72ml (day 45), P