Mesenchymal Stem Cells with eNOS Over-Expression Enhance Cardiac Repair in Rats with Myocardial Infarction

Purpose Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a promising therapeutic option for patients with acute myocardial infarction. Methods We show here that the ectopic overexpression of endothelial nitric oxide synthases (eNOS), an endothelial form of NOS, could enhance the ability of MSCs in treating ischemic heart damage after the occlusion of the coronary artery. Results Adenoviral delivery of human eNOS gene into mouse bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) conferred resistance to oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced cell death in vitro, and elevated the bioavailability of nitric oxide when injected into the myocardium in vivo. In a rat model of acute myocardial infarction, the transplantation of eNOSoverexpressing BM-MSCs significantly reduced myocardial infarct size, corrected hemodynamic parameters and increased capillary density. We also found that the synergistic effects were consistently better than either treatment alone. Conclusions These findings reveal a positive role of elevated eNOS expression in cardiac repair, and suggest the combination of eNOS and MSC transplant therapy as a potential approach for treating myocardial infarction.