Cell Therapy in Myology: Dynamics of Muscle Precursor Cell Death after Intramuscular Administration in Non-human Primates

Cell therapy could be useful for the treatment of myopathies. A problem observed in mice, with different results and interpretations, is a significant death among the transplanted cells. We analyzed this problem in non-human primates, the animal model more similar to humans. Autologous or allogeneic myoblasts (with or without a reporter gene) were proliferated in vitro, labeled with [14C]thymidine, and intramuscularly injected in macaques. Some monkeys were immunosuppressed for long-term follow-up. Cell-grafted regions were biopsied at different intervals and analyzed by radiolabel quantification and histology. Most radiolabel was lost during the first week after injection, regardless of whether the cells were allogeneic or autologous, the culture conditions, and the use or not of immunosuppression. There was no significant difference between 1 hr and 1 day post-transplantation, a significant decrease between days 1 and 3 (45% to 83%), a significant decrease between days 3 and 7 (80% to 92%), and no significant differences between 7 days and 3 weeks. Our results confirmed in non-human primates a progressive and significant death of the grafted myoblasts during the first week after administration, relatively similar to some observations in mice but with different kinetics.