OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of exogenous basic fibroblast growth 
factor (bFGF) on myocardial regeneration after acute myocardial infarction 
(AMI).
METHODS: AMI models were established by ligating the mid-third of left anterior 
descending artery, thereafter, miniswines were randomly divided into control 
(none treatment, n = 6) and bFGF groups (n = 6). For the bFGF group, bFGF (100 
μg) was injected with a sterile microinjection at five sites within the ischemic 
region. 5-Bromo-2-deoxyuridine (250 mg) was administrated intravenously twice a 
week after the operation, to label cells undergoing DNA replication. The 
expression of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) and CXC chemokine receptor 
4 (CXCR4), cardiac stem cell-mediated myocardial regeneration, myocardial 
apoptosis, histological and immunohistochemical analyses, and cardiac function 
were evaluated at different time points.
RESULTS: Four weeks after bFGF therapy, it showed an increased vessel density 
and myocardial perfusion (P < 0.001), upregulative expression of SDF-1α and 
CXCR4 (P < 0.001), increased c-kit and 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine-positive cells (P 
< 0.001), enhanced myocardial viability (P < 0.001), and improved left 
ventricular ejection fraction (P = 0.007), compared with the control.
CONCLUSION: Exogenous bFGF was shown to have increased angiogenesis and 
myocardial perfusion, promoted myocardial regeneration by activating the 
SDF-1α/CXCR4 axis, and thereby improved the cardiac function, which may provide 
a new therapeutic strategy for AMI.