Compositions and methods of vascular injury repair

1. A sterile pharmaceutical composition formulated for administration parenterally through a catheter comprising:

(a) a therapeutic amount of a sterile chemotactic hematopoietic stem cell product, the chemotactic hematopoietic stem cell product comprising a nonexpanded population of mononuclear cells enriched for CD34+ cells, which further contain a subpopulation of potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF or both and that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity; wherein the therapeutic amount comprises at least 0.5 ×10 6 potent SDF-1 mobile CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4 mediated chemotactic activity and is effective to repair a vascular injury caused by vascular insufficiency in a subject in need thereof;

(b) a stabilizing amount of serum, wherein the stabilizing amount of serum constitutes from about 0.1% to about 70% (v/v) of the composition, and is effective to retain the CXCR-4 mediated chemotactic activity and hematopoietic colony forming activity of the subpopulation of CD34+/CXCR-4+cells, and that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF or both;

the composition being characterized as having the following properties for at least 24 hours following acquisition of the mononuclear cells when tested in vitro after passage through the catheter:

(i) at least 70% of the cells in the composition are CD34+cells,

(ii) the subpopulation of-potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity and that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF or both retains at least 1% of the chemotactic activity of the CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity of the subpopulation of potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity;

(iii) at least 70% of the cells in the composition are viable; and

(iv) the CD34+cells in the composition are able to form hematopoietic colonies in vitro.

2. The sterile pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 , wherein for at least 24 hours following acquisition of the mononuclear cells, when tested in vitro after passage through the catheter, the sterile pharmaceutical composition retains at least 2% of the chemotactic activity-of the CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity of the subpopulation of potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity and that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF or both.

3. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein when the stabilizing amount of serum is at least 10% v/v, the sterile pharmaceutical composition is further characterized as having the following properties for at least 48 hours following acquisition of the mononuclear cells when tested in vitro after passage through the catheter:

(a) the CD34+ cells in the composition are is capable of forming hematopoietic colonies in vitro; and

(b) the composition retains at least 2% of the chemotactic activity of the CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity of the subpopulation of potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity.

4. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein when the stabilizing amount of serum is at least 20% (v/v), the sterile pharmaceutical composition is further characterized as having the following properties for at least 72 hours following acquisition of the mononuclear cells when tested in vitro after passage through the catheter:

(a) the CD34+ cells in the composition are capable of forming hematopoietic colonies in vitro; and

(b) the composition retains at least 2% of the chemotactic activity of the CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity of the subpopulation of potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity.

5. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein a source of the isolated, nonexpanded population of mononuclear cells comprising a subpopulation of CD34+cells, which contains a subpopulation of potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity and that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF or both is cellular components of a bone marrow aspirate from an adult subject.

6. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein a source of the isolated, nonexpanded population of mononuclear cells comprising a subpopulation of CD34+ cells, which contains a subpopulation of potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity and that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF, or both is peripheral blood from the subject.

7. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein a source of the isolated, nonexpanded population of mononuclear cells comprising a subpopulation of CD34+ cells, which further contains a subpopulation of potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity and that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF or both is peripheral blood from the subject after mobilization of the isolated, nonexpanded population of mononuclear cells using a hematopoietic stem cell mobilizing agent.

8. The composition according to claim 7 , wherein the hematopoietic stem cell mobilizing agent is G-CSF, GM-CSF or a combination thereof.

9. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein the sterile pharmaceutical composition is formulated for parenteral administration into a coronary blood vessel.

10. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein the sterile pharmaceutical composition is formulated for parenteral administration into myocardium, an artery, a vein, or a muscle.

11. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein the catheter is a flow control catheter or a balloon catheter.

12. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein the vascular insufficiency results from occlusion of a coronary artery.

13. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 12 , wherein the vascular insufficiency resulting from occlusion of a coronary artery is a microvascular insufficiency, an ischemia, a transient vascular insufficiency, a chronic ischemia or a myocardial ischemia.

14. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 12 , wherein the vascular insufficiency resulting from occlusion of a coronary artery produces a myocardial infarction.

15. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 1 , wherein the therapeutic amount of the potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells of the sterile pharmaceutical composition that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity and that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF or both is effective for the cells to migrate to and repair damage caused by the vascular insufficiency.

16. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 15 , wherein migration of the potent CD34+/CXCR-4+ cells of the sterile pharmaceutical composition that have CXCR-4-mediated chemotactic activity and that move in response to SDF-1, VEGF or both is driven by chemotaxis.

17. The sterile pharmaceutical composition according to claim 16 , wherein the chemotaxis is mediated by at least one of SDF-1, VEGF and CXCR-4.

18. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein the subject is a revascularized subject.

19. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein the stabilizing amount of serum is at least 10%.