BACKGROUND: Whether bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) is the major source of seed cells to promote angiogenesis in lower limb ischemia.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the angiogenesis evidence in lower limb ischemia of diabetic rats after intramuscular injection of BMSCs.
METHODS: A rat diabetic ischemic lower limb model was made by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin plus ligation of the bilateral femoral arteries. BrdU-labeled BMSCs were injected into 10 points of the left lower limb ischemic muscles such as rectus femoris and gastrocnemius beginning at ligation site. The same muscles of right lower limb were injected with equivalent normal saline as control.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Digital subtraction angiography imaging analysis showed that vasculature of bilateral legs in model rats could be observed at 2 weeks post-transplantation, and was obviously increased at 6 weeks after implantation of BMSCs, the vasculature in left leg was always higher than that in the right. At 2 weeks after transplantation, capillary densities of rectus femoris and gastrocnemius in left leg were higher than right leg (P < 0.05), and some implanted BMSCs with positive BrdU in vascular wall, which might have been incorporated into the vasculature. It is indicated that transplantation of BMSCs by local injection can improve blood supply and contribute to angiogenesis in lower limb ischemia of diabetic rats.