Bone marrow cell therapy in cardiovascular disease drives us slowly to a better identification of the active cell component

Endothelial progenitor cell therapy and stem cell therapy have been proposed in regeneration of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In the previous issue of Stem Cell Research & Therapy, Lamirault and colleagues described a strong analysis of progenitors in blood and bone marrow of patients collected after AMI, and correlated these levels to bone marrow mononuclear cell (BM-MNC) therapy efficacy and smoking status. The main results are that BM-MNCs can override smoking alteration in endothelial lineage and confirm that endothelial progenitor cells are probably not by themselves the active component of BM-MNC in AMI. This paper allows one to better appreciate the cellular complexity of cell therapy approach in AMI.