CXCL12 and myocardial infarction: In a study that compared the effects of SDF-1 overexpressed on MSCs alone or mesenchymal stem cells engineered to overexpress SDF-1 (MSC-SDF) on cardiac function in Lewis rats after acute myocardial infarction, tail vein infusion of MSC and MSC-SDF-1, 1 day after acute myocardial infarction, led to improved cardiac function by echocardiography by 70.7 and 238.8%, respectively, compared with saline controls.