| Grant number: | 11/18197-0 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | February 01, 2012 |
| Effective date (End): | January 31, 2014 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Genetics - Human and Medical Genetics |
| Principal researcher: | Sang Won Han |
| Grantee: | Bruno Tesini Roseguini |
| Home Institution: | Centro de Terapia Celular e Molecular. Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil |
Abstract Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common manifestation of atherosclerosis that affects a considerable portion of the elderly population. Despite of the increasing prevalence and the impact of the disease in the quality of life of the patients, the available treatment options have low cost-effectiveness and are not accessible to the majority of the patients. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy seems to be a promising alternative to promote the functional recovery of individuals with PAD. However, several studies have shown that only a minor fraction of cells transplanted in the affected lower limbs survives, which diminishes considerably the therapeutic potential of this strategy. The major goal of this proposal is to test the hypothesis that a single bout of exercise performed prior to mesenchymal cell administration improves survival and engraftment of these cells in the ischemic tissue and consequently, improves the efficacy of this therapy. Specifically, we hypothesize a single bout of exercise leads to increased expression in skeletal muscle of chemokines and cytokines involved in the attraction and survival of stem cells, such as SDF-1 and its receptor CXCR4. Because of that, exercise should increase the presence of mesenchymal cells in the muscles after the transplant and ultimately, amplify the improvement in functional indexes and vascular density in the lower limbs. Since exercise is non-invasive, accessible and easily applicable, the results of this project could have important implications for the clinical use of mesenchymal stem cell therapy. | |