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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
LAD-Ligation: A Murine Model of Myocardial Infarction
Published on: October 14, 2009
Improved diastolic function after myoblast transplantation in a model of ischemia-infarction
Tommi Pätilä1, Tuija Ikonen, Esko Kankuri
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Helsinki Meilahti Hospital, Finland. tommi.patila@hus.fi
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of myoblast transplantation on left ventricular function, perfusion, and scar formation after compromised coronary flow.
Design:
A coronary vessel with Ameroid-induced stenosis was ligated and skeletal muscle was biopsied for isolation and cultivation of myoblasts. Two weeks after ligation, animals were randomly selected to receive intramyocardial injections of 2 x 10(6) myoblasts or vehicle. Fifteen animals survived the whole study period (n=9 and n=6, respectively). All animals underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and angiography pretreatment and four weeks posttreatment.
Results:
Peak filling rate of the left ventricle improved in the myoblast group (p=0.0048), but not in the control group. Peak ejection rate and duration of diastole improved only in the myoblast group (p=0.049 and p=0.0039, respectively). Ejection fraction or local thickening did not change. Fibrosis and perfusion were similar in both groups, but more microvessels were present histologically in the myoblast group.
Conclusions:
In this preclinical study, autologous myoblast transplantation improved ischemic heart function via enhanced diastolic filling of the left ventricle.
