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Background— Multilineage developmental capacity of the CD34⁺ cells, especially into cardiomyocytes and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), is still controversial. In the present study we performed a series of experiments to prove our hypothesis that vasculogenesis and cardiomyogenesis after myocardial infarction (MI) may be dose-dependently enhanced after CD34⁺ cell transplantation.

Methods and Results— Peripheral blood CD34⁺ cells were isolated from total mononuclear cells of patients with limb ischemia by apheresis after 5-day administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. PBS and 1×10³ (low), 1×10⁵ (mid), or 5×10⁵ (high) CD34⁺ cells were intramyocardially transplanted after ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery of nude rats. Functional assessments with the use of echocardiography and a microtip conductance catheter at day 28 revealed dose-dependent preservation of left …