An Extraperitoneal Technique for Murine Heterotopic Cardiac Transplantation

The mouse heterotopic cardiac transplantation model has been used extensively by investigators in the field of organ transplantation to study the rejection process, test new antirejection treatments, tolerance induction protocols or to understand basic immunological principles. Due to its extensive use, any small refinement of the technique would have a major impact on replacement, reduction and refinement (commonly known as the 3Rs). Here, we describe a novel approach to refine this model. The donor aorta and pulmonary artery are anastomosed peripherally to the femoral artery and vein of the recipient, respectively. The technical success rate is comparable to the conventional abdominal site, but it avoids a laparotomy and handling of the bowels making it less invasive method. As a result, recipients recover faster and require less postoperative analgesia. It is a major refinement under one of the 3Rs and would represent an advance in animal welfare in scientific research.