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Context Clinical trial results suggest that intracoronary delivery of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMCs) may improve left ventricular (LV) function when administered within the first week following myocardial infarction (MI). However, since a substantial number of patients may not present for early cell delivery, we investigated the efficacy of autologous BMC delivery 2–3 weeks post-MI. Objective To determine if intracoronary delivery of autologous BMCs improves global and regional LV function when delivered 2–3 weeks following first MI. Design, Setting, and Patients LateTIME is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - sponsored Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) of 87 patients with significant LV dysfunction (LVEF ≤ 45%) following successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Interventions Intracoronary infusion of 150 × 106 autologous BMCs (total nucleated cells) or placebo (2:1 BMC:placebo) was performed within 12 hours of bone marrow aspiration after local automated cell processing. Main Outcome Measures The primary endpoints were changes in global (LVEF) and regional (wall motion) LV function in the infarct and border zone from baseline to 6 months as measured by cardiac MRI at a core lab blinded to treatment assignment Secondary endpoints included changes in LV volumes and infarct size. Results 87 patients were randomized between July 2008 and February 2011: mean age = 57 ± 11 yrs, 83% male. Harvesting, processing, and intracoronary delivery of BMCs in this setting was feasible and safe. The change from baseline to six months in the BMC group, when compared to the placebo group, for LVEF (48.7 to 49.2% vs. 45.3 to 48.8%; Difference = −3.0, 95% CI −7.0 to 0.9), wall motion in the infarct zone (6.2 to 6.5 vs. 4.9 to 5.9 mm; Difference = −0.7, 95% CI −2.8 to 1.3), and wall motion in the border zone (16.0 to 16.6 mm vs. 16.1 to 19.3 mm; Difference = −2.6; 95% CI −6.0 to 0.8) were not statistically significant. There was no significant change in LV volumes and infarct volumes decreased by a similar amount in both groups at 6 months compared to baseline. Conclusions Among patients with MI and LV dysfunction following reperfusion with PCI, intracoronary infusion of autologous BMCs compared to intracoronary placebo infusion, 2–3 weeks after PCI did not improve global or regional function at 6 months.

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Aims CONCERT‐HF is an NHLBI‐sponsored, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, Phase II trial designed to determine whether treatment with autologous bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and c‐kit positive cardiac cells (CPCs), given alone or in combination, is feasible, safe, and beneficial in patients with heart failure (HF) caused by ischaemic cardiomyopathy. Methods and results Patients were randomized (1:1:1:1) to transendocardial injection of MSCs combined with CPCs, MSCs alone, CPCs alone, or placebo, and followed for 12 months. Seven centres enrolled 125 participants with left ventricular ejection fraction of 28.6 ± 6.1% and scar size 19.4 ± 5.8%, in New York Heart Association class II or III. The proportion of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) was significantly decreased by CPCs alone (−22% vs. placebo, P = 0.043). Quality of life (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire score) was significantly improved by MSCs alone (P = 0.050) and MSCs + CPCs (P = 0.023) vs. placebo. Left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular volumes, scar size, 6‐min walking distance, and peak oxygen consumption did not differ significantly among groups. Conclusions This is the first multicentre trial assessing CPCs and a combination of two cell types from different tissues in HF patients. The results show that treatment is safe and feasible. Even with maximal guideline‐directed therapy, both CPCs and MSCs were associated with improved clinical outcomes (MACE and quality of life, respectively) in ischaemic HF without affecting left ventricular function or structure, suggesting possible systemic or paracrine cellular mechanisms. Combining MSCs with CPCs was associated with improvement in both these outcomes. These results suggest potential important beneficial effects of CPCs and MSCs and support further investigation in HF patients.

Several previous studies have demonstrated that administration of autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) improve cardiac function in patients following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, optimum timing of administration has not been investigated in a clinical trial. The Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) was developed and funded by the NHLBI to address important questions such as timing of cell delivery and to accelerate research in the use of cell-based therapies. The TIME trial is a randomized, Phase II, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The five member clinical sites of the CCTRN will enroll a total of 120 eligible patients with moderate-to-large anterior AMIs who have undergone successful PCI of the LAD coronary artery, and have an LVEF ≤45% by echocardiography. Participants will have bone marrow aspirations and intra-coronary infusions of 150 × 106 BMMNCs or placebo on day 3 or day 7 post-AMI. Objectives of this study are 1) To evaluate effects of BMMNCs on regional and global left-ventricular (LV) function compared to placebo therapy in patients with acute AMI as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) at 6 months, and 2) To assess whether effects of BMMNC infusion on global and regional LV function and safety are influenced by the time of administration. This study will provide further insight into the clinical feasibility and appropriate timing of autologous BMNNC therapy in high-risk patients following AMI and PCI.