Comparison of initial cell retention and clearance kinetics after subendocardial or subepicardial injections of endothelial progenitor cells in a canine myocardial infarction model

Authors

Andrea J. Mitchell, Western University
Eric Sabondjian, Western University
Jane Sykes, Lawson Health Research Institute
Lela Deans, Lawson Health Research Institute
Wendy Zhu, Lawson Health Research Institute
Xiangru Lu, Western University
Qingping Feng, Lawson Health Research InstituteFollow
Frank S. Prato, Western University
Gerald Wisenberg, Lawson Health Research Institute

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2010

Journal

Journal of Nuclear Medicine

Volume

51

Issue

3

First Page

413

Last Page

417

URL with Digital Object Identifier

10.2967/jnumed.109.069732

Abstract

Neither intravenous nor intracoronary routes provide targeted stem cell delivery to recently infarcted myocardium in sufficient quantities. Direct routes appear preferable. However, most prior studies have used epicardial injections, which are not practical for routine clinical use. The objective of this study was to compare cell retention and clearance kinetics between a subepicardial and a subendocardial technique. Methods: We evaluated 7 dogs with each technique, using 111In-tropolone-labeled endothelial progenitor cells and serial SPECT/CT for 15 d after injection. Results: In vivo indium imaging demonstrated comparable degrees of retention: 57% ± 15% for the subepicardial injections and 54% ± 26% for the subendocardial injections. Clearance half-lives were also similar at 69 ± 26 and 60 ± 21 h, respectively. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that subendocardial injections, clinically more practical, show clearance kinetics comparable to those of subepicardial injections and will facilitate the ultimate clinical use of this treatment modality. Copyright © 2010 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Inc.