Patent ID: 8445453

Claim:
A method of treating ischemic tissue in a subject comprising: introducing directly into or locally expressing in the ischemic tissue monocyte chemotactic protein-3 (MCP-3), at an amount and for a length of time effective to induce homing of mesenchymal stem cells which are chemoattracted to MCP-3 from the peripheral blood of the ischemic tissue, wherein said local expression of MCP-3 in the ischemic tissue is obtained by administering an expression vector comprising a nucleic acid encoding for MCP-3 into the ischemic tissue; and increasing the concentration of mesenchymal stem cells in the peripheral blood of the ischemic tissue being treated from a first concentration to a second concentration, wherein the mesenchymal stem cells are chemoattracted to the MCP-3 and engraft in the ischemic tissue being treated.