Implantation Of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improves Right Ventricular Impairments And Microvascular Rarefaction Caused By Pulmonary Hypertension

Objective：To investigate the efficacy of MSCs implantation in monocrotaline (MCT)Injury plus pneumonectomy induced Pulmonary artery hypertension（PAH）rats.Methods：PAH was induced in rats by pneumonectomy plus subcutaneous injectionof MCT. Three week after MCT administration, the rats received2differenttreatments: EGFP-MSCs (EGFP-MSCs group), and nontreatment (CON group). Rightventricular (RV) hypertrophy and the elevation of the mean pulmonary arterialpressure (mPAP) were evaluated5weeks after MCT administration.To evaluateangiogenesis in the lung, barium angiography was taken and the capillary density wasimmunohistochemically determined as the average number of factor VIII-positivecapillaries per1mm2.Results：The mPAP and the ratio of right ventricular and left ventricular plus septalweights (RV/LV+S) in the EGFP-MSCs group were significantly lower than the CONgroup. The capillary density was significantly higher in the EGFP-MSCs group thanthe CON group. Barium angiography revealed diminished distal pulmonaryvasculature in the CON group, whereas in the EGFP-MSCs group, distal pulmonaryvasculature was significantly increased. The survival time of rats receiving EGFP-MSCs was significantly longer than the nontreatment rats.Conclusion：Intravenous implantation of MSCs may offer ameliorating effects on PH-related RV impairment, and microvascular rarefaction and survival time.