Myocardial infarct size and area at risk assessment in mice

Mouse models of myocardial ischemia and infarction are important in cardiovascular research. Reliable and reproducible assessment of the area at risk (AAR) and infarct size (IS) in mice is vital for deciphering mechanisms behind these common diseases, and for developing and evaluating treatment strategies. The present review will briefly describe and discuss the most common methods for determining the AAR and IS in mouse models of cardiovascular disease. Several methods exist for ex vivo assessment of IS. Conventional histological stains target the fibrous scar and require several days to pass from the time of infarct induction until the animal is euthanized, whereas triphenyltetrazolium-based techniques stain the viable tissue surrounding the infarct and can be performed on tissue harvested within a few hours after infarction. The AAR is usually stained by injecting a dye into the circulation. This dye subsequently distributes to perfused tissue but leaves the AAR unstained. In vivo assessment enables serial measurements of the IS and/or AAR and is sometimes preferable to ex vivo techniques. Echocardiography is usually the method of choice but magnetic resonance imaging-based techniques are also used. The aim of the present review was to provide basic researchers with an introduction to the various techniques used to assess and quantify the IS and AAR in experimental mouse models of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion and infarction.