Transplantation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell–Derived Pericyte-Like Cells Transduced with Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Promotes Angiogenic Recovery in Mice with Severe Chronic Hindlimb Ischemia

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is a state of severe peripheral artery disease, with no effective treatment. Cell therapy has been investigated as a therapeutic tool for CLI, and pericytes are promising therapeutic candidates based on their angiogenic properties. We firstly generated highly proliferative and immunosuppressive pericyte-like cells from embryonic stem (ES) cells. In order to enhance the angiogenic potential, we transduced the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) gene into the pericyte-like cells and found a significant enhancement of angiogenesis in a Matrigel plug assay. Furthermore, we evaluated the bFGF-expressing pericyte-like cells in the previously established chronic hindlimb ischemia model in which bone marrow–derived MSCs were not effective. As a result, bFGF-expressing pericyte-like cells significantly improved blood flow in both laser Doppler perfusion imaging (LDPI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). These findings suggest that bFGF-expressing pericyte-like cells differentiated from ES cells may be a therapeutic candidate for CLI. Graphical Abstract