On global scale the leading causes of death are ischemic heart disease and stroke, accounting for more than 15 million deaths in 2015. The demand for heart transplantation for patients suffering from severe heart failure is increasing and the biggest concern is that patients on the waiting list are almost never able to get the heart and the ones that do, undergo a lifetime of immunosuppressive drug therapy. Regarding the immune system, many complications may occur which can lead to organ rejection. Such problem has driven the clinical research into examining new ways of treatment. Transplanting stem cells for heart failure has been in the clinical studies since 2002. Nonetheless, to date, several clinical trials have been successfully executed and many more are in the process. The process requires selection and isolation of the stem cell population (mesenchymal, hematopoietic, adipose tissue derived or cardiac stem cells) and injecting them into the injured tissue of the heart. It is known that stem cells have regenerative capacity for the injured tissue and via cell to cell communication (paracrine signaling) the remodeling of the myocardium can be terminated. Stem cells inhibit secretion of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF alpha, which have direct cytotoxic effect on cardiomyocytes. Also stem cells promote secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10. The aim of this paper is to preview the information on different type of stem cells and their capability for heart failure treatment. Moreover, it is also important to consider transplantation of stem cells as a conventional therapy for patients diagnosed with heart failure.
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