Autologous immuno magnetically selected CD133+ stem cells in the treatment of no-option critical limb ischemia: clinical and contrast enhanced ultrasound assessed results in eight patients

Objectives Demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of highly purified CD133+ autologous stem cells in critical limb ischemia (CLI). Design Prospective single-center not randomized. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01595776 Methods Eight patients with a history of stable CLI were enrolled in a period of 2 years. After bone marrow stimulation and single leukapheresis collection, CD133+ immunomagnetic cell selection was performed. CD133+ cells in buffer phosphate suspension was administered intramuscularly. Muscular and arterial contrast enhanced ultra sound (CEUS), lesion evolution and pain management were assessed preoperatively and 3, 6 and 12 months after the implant. Results No patient had early or late complications related to the procedure. Two patients (25 %) didn’t get any relief from the treatment and underwent major amputation. Six patients (75 %) had a complete healing of the wounds, rest pain cessation and walking recovery. An increase in CEUS values was shown in all eight patients at 6 months and in the six clinical healed patients at 12 months and had statistical relevance. Conclusions Highly purified autologous CD133+ cells can stimulate neo-angiogenesis, as based on clinical and CEUS data. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-015-0697-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.