Role of Bioactive Lipids in Stem Cell Mobilization and Homing in Cardiac Ischemia

Recent evidence indicates that mobilized bone marrow (BM)-derived stem/progenitor cells (SPCs) contribute to dynamic cardiomyocyte chimerism under physiological conditions and after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), mostly through paracrine effects. While it is clear that the magnitude of BMSPCs mobilization following AMI correlates with cardiac recovery, the molecular events driving BMSPC mobilization and homing are poorly understood. There is a critical need to define the pathways responsible for the mobilization and homing of BMSPCs following AMI and ultimately their regenerative capacity. In the absence of such knowledge, the promise of ultimately developing innovative mechanism-based strategies to treat and/or prevent AMI-induced cardiac injury will remain unlikely. Our long-term research goal is to contribute toward the development of new clinically useful myocardial regenerative therapies for injury caused by AMI.