Transmurality of scar influences the effect of a hybrid-intervention with autologous bone marrow cell injection and aortocoronary bypass surgery (MNC/CABG) in patients after myocardial infarction

Abstract Background Cell therapy (CTx) is a strategy to support cardiac regeneration after myocardial infarction (MI). Thus far, clinical studies provided mixed results. Here, we investigated whether transmurality of the infarct may play a relevant role. Methods 18 patients (63±3years, 15 male) undergoing elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery 2.2±0.7months post MI participated. 10 had transmural and 8 non-transmural infarct scars assessed by Tc-99m-MIBI Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and F18-FDG-Positron-Emission-Tomography (PET). During surgery, 10ml of sternal bone marrow were obtained, mononuclear cells (MNC) were isolated. At the end of surgery MNC wer…