Could donor stem cells repair failing hearts?
NCT ID NCT04476901
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether injecting donor stem cells (from healthy volunteers) can safely improve heart function in people with a weakened heart muscle not caused by blocked arteries. About 136 adults aged 18-80 with low pumping ability will receive either stem cells or a placebo. The main goal is to see if the stem cells increase the heart's ejection fraction (how much blood it pumps out) after one year.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cells (donor stem cells)
- What this could lead to
- If this works, it could lead to a new treatment that improves heart function in people with dilated cardiomyopathy, potentially reducing the need for more invasive procedures.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early Phase 2 trial with only 136 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. Stem cell therapies carry risks like immune reactions or infection, and the placebo group may show similar improvement.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 136 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2021
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Men and women aged 18 to 80 years (inclusive) at the time of signing the informed consent form. 2. Diagnosis of NIDCM with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤45%. 3. Appropriate guideline-directed optimal medical therapy for non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. At a minimum, subjects must be on beta blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) or Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin Inhibitors (ARNI) or have appropriate medical indication precluding use of one or both of these agents. Subjects must be on a stable regimen for at least 30 days prior to the procedure. Dose titration is allowed. 4. Be a candidate for cardiac catheterization\* 5. Be willing to undergo DNA test. Exclusion Criteria: An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: 1. Be eligible for or require standard-of-care surgical or percutaneous intervention for the treatment of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy 2. Clinical manifestation of coronary artery disease (CAD) (e.g., chest pain and concomitant clinical findings such as electrocardiogram changes suggestive of coronary ischemia, myocardial infarction) or evidence of endocardial or transmural scar on cardiac MRI suggestive of undiagnosed CAD or history of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Be indicated for or require coronary artery revascularization 3. Documented presence of epicardial stenosis of 70% or greater in one or more major epicardial coronary arteries 4. Valvular heart disease including 1) aortic valve prosthesis, mechanical mitral valve, and mitral valve clip; 2) severe aortic valve insufficiency/regurgitation within 12 months of consent\* 5. Aortic stenosis with valve area ≤ 1.5cm2\* 6. Cardiomyopathy due to acute Post-partum (within 6 months), Non-compaction\*, or Hypertrophic\* cardiomyopathy 7. Cardiomyopathy due to known toxin (e.g amyloid) Note: anthracycline induced cardiomyopathy will be allowed 8. QTc interval \> 550 ms on baseline electrocardiogram (ECG) (note: QTc interval is the interval between the start of the Q wave and the end of the T wave in the heart's electrical cycle) 9. Automated Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (AICD) appropriate firing or anti tachycardia pacing for ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation within 30 days prior to consent 10. Have an estimated baseline glomerular filtration rate below the clinical site's institutional cutoff 11. A hematologic abnormality during baseline testing as evidenced by hemoglobin \< 9 g/dl; hematocrit \< 30%; absolute neutrophil count \< 2,000 or total WBC count more than 2 times upper limit of normal; or platelet values \< 100,000/ul 12. Have liver dysfunction, as evidenced by enzymes Aspartate Transaminase Enzyme (AST) and Alanine Aminotransferase Enzyme (ALT) greater than three times the ULN 13. Have a bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy (International Normalised Ratio (INR) \> 1.5), cannot be withdrawn from anticoagulation therapy, or will refuse blood transfusions 14. Be a solid organ transplant recipient. This does not include prior cell based therapy (\>12 months prior to enrollment), bone, skin, ligament, tendon or corneal grafting. 15. Have a history of organ or cell transplant rejection 16. Have a clinical history of malignancy within the past 12 months (i.e., subjects with prior malignancy must be disease free for 12 months), except curatively treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma or cervical carcinoma 17. Drug and/or alcohol abuse or dependence within the past 9 months 18. Be serum positive for HIV, hepatitis B surface antigen, or viremic hepatitis C 19. Documented presence of a known Left Ventricular (LV) thrombus, aortic dissection, or aortic aneurysm. (Refer to "Guidance to the PI" section with regards to LV thrombus, below)\* 20. Blood glucose levels (HbA1c) \>10% 21. Severe radiographic contrast allergy 22. Known history of anaphylactic reaction to penicillin or streptomycin 23. Hypersensitivity to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) 24. Non-cardiac condition with life expectancy \< 1 year 25. Acute stroke or transient ischemic attack within 3 months of enrollment 26. Be pregnant, nursing, or of childbearing potential while not practicing effective contraceptive methods 27. Pacemaker-dependence with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) (Note: pacemaker-dependent candidates without an ICD are not excluded) 28. Presence of a pacemaker and/or ICD generator with any of the following limitations/conditions: * manufactured before the year 2000 * leads implanted \< 6 weeks prior to consent * non-transvenous epicardial or abandoned leads * subcutaneous ICDs * leadless pacemakers 29. A cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device implanted less than 3 months prior to consent 30. Other MRI contraindications (e.g. subject body habitus incompatible with MRI) 31. Need for advanced heart failure therapy (e.g. IV inotropes) 32. Be currently participating (or participated within the previous 30 days) in an investigational therapeutic or device trial 33. Any other condition that in the judgment of the Investigator would be a contraindication to enrollment or follow-up (\*) Applies to subjects receiving product via transendocardial administration only
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
4 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Stanford University
RECRUITINGStanford, California, 94304, United States
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Texas Heart Institute
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
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University of Louisville
RECRUITINGLouisville, Kentucky, 40202, United States
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University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
RECRUITINGMiami, Florida, 33136, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Heart scar on MRI may decide who gets a lifesaving shock device
- Can your own stem cells help a failing heart heal?
- New pacemaker technique aims to boost heart failure treatment