AnalyzeDirect 
The heart and the kidneys work very closely together: kidneys control blood pressure and filter the blood coming from the heart, eliminating the excess of chemicals and fluids in the form of urine. Several studies have shown that heart failure is a risk factor for renal disease and the two conditions may significantly impact each other through multiple mechanisms.
Renal hypertension, which is caused by blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the kidneys, is in turn often responsible for cardiac dysfunction. Angioplasty of the renal artery is the most common technique used to widen the vessel, but unfortunately this procedure does not convey any additional benefit when it comes to improving concurrent cardiac injury.
For this reason, scientists from Mayo Clinic decided to match angioplasty in pigs suffering from renovascular hypertension with a renal infusion of mesenchymal stem cells, to test whether this added treatment could improve myocardial dysfunction. Mesenchymal stem cells have been shown to have therapeutic potential for tissue repair, as they are capable of dividing many times while maintaining their ability to become various cell types.
Their work indicated that the injection of mesenchymal stem cells immediately after angioplasty of the renal artery may have a crucial role in renal as well as in cardiac repair. From multidetector row CT scans, Analyze software was used to assess renal and cardiac function, reconstruct and evaluate images and select regions of interest. The software was also used to determine the spatial density of the myocardial microvascular architecture.
The researchers found that compared to controls, mesenchymal stem cells improved both renal and cardiac function, increased myocardial oxygenation, and decreased inflammation, oxidative stress and myocardial injury. Intra-renal delivery of these cells also attenuated microvascular remodeling, which is associated with progressive worsening of cardiac function.
The major contribution of these cells was their ability to release signaling molecules that induced changes in inflammation, which positively affected the heart. The delivery of mesenchymal stem cells, in addition to angioplasty of the renal artery, may therefore represent a promising therapy for renovascular hypertension that provides crucial benefits to both heart and kidneys.
Related: The Impact of Coronary Artery Stenosis on Renal Injury
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