Transplantation of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells enhances angiogenesis after ischemic limb injury in mice

Mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy has emerged as a promising approach for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential effects of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PMSCs) on mouse hindlimb ischemia. PMSCs were isolated from human placenta tissue and characterized by flow cytometry. An in vivo surgical ligation-induced murine limb ischemia model was generated with fluorescent dye (CM-DiI) labelled PMSCs delivered via intramuscular injection. Our data show that PMSCs treatment significantly enhanced microvessel density, improved blood perfusion and diminished pathologies in ischemic mouse hindlimbs as compared to those in the control group. Further immunostaining studies suggested that injected PMSCs can incorporate into the vasculature and differentiate into endothelial and smooth muscle cells to enhance angiogenesis in ischemic hind limbs. This may in part explain the beneficial effects of PMSCs treatment. Taken together, we found that PMSCs treatment might be an effective treatment modality for treatment of ischemia-induced injury to mouse hind limbs by enhancement of angiogenesis.