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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Myocardial Infarction and Functional Outcome Assessment in Pigs
Published on: April 25, 2014
Development of the Myocardial Interstitium
Cristina Pogontke1,2, Juan A Guadix1,2, Adrián Ruiz-Villalba3
1Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Málaga, Instituto Malagueño de Biomedicina (IBIMA), Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29080, Málaga, Spain.
Abstract:
The space between cardiac myocytes is commonly referred-to as the cardiac interstitium (CI). The CI is a unique, complex and dynamic microenvironment in which multiple cell types, extracellular matrix molecules, and instructive signals interact to crucially support heart homeostasis and promote cardiac responses to normal and pathologic stimuli. Despite the biomedical and clinical relevance of the CI, its detailed cellular structure remains to be elucidated. In this review, we will dissect the organization of the cardiac interstitium by following its changing cellular and molecular composition from embryonic developmental stages to adulthood, providing a systematic analysis of the biological components of the CI. The main goal of this review is to contribute to our understanding of the CI roles in health and disease. Anat Rec, 302:58-68, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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