The Transendocardial Autologous Cells (hMSC or hBMC) in Ischemic Heart Failure Trial (TAC-HFT)

Summary

The technique of transplanting progenitor cells into a region of damaged myocardium, termed cellular cardiomyoplasty, is a potentially new therapeutic modality designed to replace or repair necrotic, scarred, or dysfunctional myocardium. Ideally, graft cells should be readily available, easy to culture to ensure adequate quantities for transplantation, and able to survive in host myocardium; often a hostile environment of limited blood supply and immunorejection. Whether effective cellular regenerative strategies require that administered cells differentiate into adult cardiomyocytes and couple electromechanically with the surrounding myocardium is increasingly controversial, and recent evidence suggests that this may not be required for effective cardiac repair. Most importantly, transplantation of graft cells should improve cardiac function and prevent adverse ventricular remodeling. To date, a number of candidate cells have been transplanted in experimental models, including fetal and neonatal cardiomyocytes, embryonic stem cell-derived myocytes, tissue engineered contractile grafts, skeletal myoblasts, several cell types derived from adult bone marrow, and cardiac precursors residing within the heart itself. There has been substantial clinical development in the use of whole bone marrow and skeletal myoblast preparations in studies enrolling both post-infarction patients, and patients with chronic ischemic left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure. The effects of bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have also been studies clinically. Currently, bone marrow or bone marrow-derived cells represent highly promising modality for cardiac repair. The totality of evidence from trials investigating autologous whole bone marrow infusions into patients following myocardial infarction supports the safety of this approach. In terms of efficacy, increases in ejection fraction are reported in the majority of the trials. Chronic ischemic left ventricular dysfunction resulting from heart disease is a common and problematic condition; definitive therapy in the form of heart transplantation is available to only a tiny minority of eligible patients. Cellular cardiomyoplasty for chronic heart failure has been studied less than for acute MI, but represents a potentially important alternative for this disease.

Timeline

Start

2008-08

Primary completion

2012-08

Completion

2013-09

Publications

• Results Heldman AW, DiFede DL, Fishman JE, Zambrano JP, Trachtenberg BH, Karantalis V, Mushtaq M, Williams AR, Suncion VY, McNiece IK, Ghersin E, Soto V, Lopera G, Miki R, Willens H, Hendel R, Mitrani R, Pattany P, Feigenbaum G, Oskouei B, Byrnes J, Lowery MH, Sierra J, Pujol MV, Delgado C, Gonzalez PJ, Rodriguez JE, Bagno LL, Rouy D, Altman P, Foo CW, da Silva J, Anderson E, Schwarz R, Mendizabal A, Hare JM. Transendocardial mesenchymal stem cells and mononuclear bone marrow cells for ischemic cardiomyopathy: the TAC-HFT randomized trial. JAMA. 2014 Jan 1;311(1):62-73. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.282909.
• Tompkins BA, Rieger AC, Florea V, Banerjee MN, Natsumeda M, Nigh ED, Landin AM, Rodriguez GM, Hatzistergos KE, Schulman IH, Hare JM. Comparison of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Efficacy in Ischemic Versus Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy. J Am Heart Assoc. 2018 Jul 12;7(14):e008460. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.117.008460.
• Trachtenberg B, Velazquez DL, Williams AR, McNiece I, Fishman J, Nguyen K, Rouy D, Altman P, Schwarz R, Mendizabal A, Oskouei B, Byrnes J, Soto V, Tracy M, Zambrano JP, Heldman AW, Hare JM. Rationale and design of the Transendocardial Injection of Autologous Human Cells (bone marrow or mesenchymal) in Chronic Ischemic Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Heart Failure Secondary to Myocardial Infarction (TAC-HFT) trial: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy. Am Heart J. 2011 Mar;161(3):487-93. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2010.11.024.

Drugs

Indications