Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a global epidemic in developed countries. Cumulative
evidence suggests that myocyte formation is preserved during postnatal life, in adulthood
or senescence, suggesting the existence of a growth reserve of the heart throughout
lifespan. Several medical therapeutic approaches to CVD have considerably improved
the clinical outcome for patients. Intense interest has been focused on regenerative
medicine as an emerging strategy for CVD. Cellular therapeutic approaches have been
proposed for enhancing survival and propagation of stem cells in myocardium, leading
to cardiac cellular repair. Strong epidemiological and clinical data exists concerning
the impact of regular physical exercise on cardiovascular health. Several mechanisms
of acute and chronic exercise-induced cardiovascular adaptations to exercise have
been presented, considering primary and secondary prevention of CVD. In this context,
exercise-related improvements in the function and regeneration of the cardiovascular
system may be associated with the exercise-induced activation, mobilization, differentiation,
and homing of stem and progenitor cells. In this review several topics will be addressed
concerning the relation between exercise, recruitment and biological activity of blood-circulating
progenitor cells and resident cardiac stem cells. We hypothesize that exercise-induced
stem cell activation may enhance overall heart function and improve the efficacy of
cardiac cellular therapeutic protocols.
Key words
stem cell - cardiac rehabilitation - physical activity - cardiovascular diseases -
cellular therapy