Heparin and Bone Marrow–Derived Cell Therapy

Cell therapy has been shown to be useful in treating some patients with acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and ischemic limbs.1–7 In harvesting, storing, or injecting the bone marrow–derived mononuclear cells (BMCs), an anticoagulant, such as heparin, is often added to prevent cell clumping. In this issue of Circulation Research , Drs Stephanie Dimmeler, Andreas Zeiher, and their colleagues (Seeger et al8) show in detailed studies that heparin may impair the functional capacities of BMCs. This discovery has significant implications for the processing of BMCs before administration of cell therapy and potentially in the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndromes, chronic ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathies, and peripheral vascular disease.Article, see p 854In their report, the authors show that heparin impairs migration and …