Cytori demonstrates adipose stem cells improve cardiac function in preclinical heart attack model

First preclinical report of autologous stem cells harvested and administered the day of heart attack

Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (Frankfurt: XMP), today presented results demonstrating that adipose stem cells improved cardiac function following a severe heart attack in a porcine study. This is the first preclinical study in which the injected cells were autologous, meaning they came from the animals’ own tissue, were not cultured, so that they did not undergo multiple cell divisions to achieve a target dose of cells, and were harvested and administered on the day of the heart attack. The results of the study, conducted in collaboration with Tulane University, were presented at the 17th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2005 conference in Washington, D.C. (abstract no. 158).

In this randomized study, 17 animals received either injections of their own adipose stem and regenerative cells (treated) or a saline injection (control) via catheter into the artery at the site of the heart attack. After eight weeks, there was a statistically significant reduction in the perfusion defect, which is the area of the heart deprived of oxygen as a result of the infarct. A corresponding benefit was observed by the improvement in ejection fraction, a common measure of the heart’s pumping efficiency.

“Our study was unique in that the animals received an injection of autologous cells that were not cultured and administered immediately following a heart attack,” said Marc H. Hedrick, M.D., President for Cytori Therapeutics. “Additionally, it shows that a sufficient number of cells could be accessed from adipose tissue in real-time to achieve a therapeutic effect, which closely approximates a clinical setting where timely delivery may be critical. These data confirm our previous results and will serve as an important component of our forthcoming application to initiate European clinical studies next year.”

Adipose tissue, also known as fat, is an abundant source of stem cells and other regenerative cells that can contribute to the repair and healing of damaged tissue. These cells have been shown to reduce the extent of a heart attack and promote restoration of heart function by a variety of mechanisms, including promotion of blood vessel growth, and differentiate into cardiac muscle tissue.