Establishment of a reperfusion model in rabbits with acute myocardial infarction

Clinically effective cardioprotection under acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can only be achieved by establishing the mechanisms of reperfusion-induced cardiac cell death. In spite of the numerous earlier studies on the prevention of ischemia-reperfusion injury of myocardium, the problem of cardiac cell death upon reperfusion is not yet resolved. Even though animal models provide an immense opportunity in the understanding of the mechanisms of ischemia-reperfusion injury, clinically relevant animal models through which translation of this knowledge into clinic are lacking. In this work, we have established a reperfusion model in rabbits with induced AMI by obstructing and releasing the left anterior ventricular branch of left circumflex coronary artery, which is clinically more relevant. This was achieved by cutting the two left ribs of the rabbit followed by obstructing and releasing the artery unlike the traditional approach, which involves incision through sternum and blocking the anterior descending coronary artery. This animal model of ischemia-reperfusion more closely mimics the physiological condition and also the trauma the animal suffers is much smaller with higher survival rate and thus is a potentially better model for studying the pathology related to ischemia-reperfusion injury.