Development of a novel model of myocardial infarction based on cervical heart transplantation in rats

Objective: To develop a novel model of myocardial infarction based on cervical heart transplantation in rats.（Methods: ）Male adult inbred isogenic Lewis rats（8-10 weeks old） were used as donors and recipients.First,myocardial damage was obtained in the hearts of donor rats by placing a frozen metal rod on the left ventricular wall for 20 seconds.Second,the injured hearts were procured and preserved in cool normal saline containing heparin.Third,the donor aorta and pulmonary artery were anastomosed to the recipient right common carotid artery and right external jugular vein, respectively.The pulsation of donor hearts was observed and the pathological examination were performed postoperatively. Results: 50 formal transplantations were performed.94% of the cryo-injured transplanted hearts beated again after reperfusion and 76% of them were beating for no less than 7 days.The myocardial degeneration and necrosis with clear border were identified by pathology. Conclusions: A novel model of myocardial infarction with higher survival rate was developed successfully,which invovled relatively fewer complications and was easy to observe.The special feature of the circulation pathway of infacrted heart made it possible for this model to be used in experimental studies on the treatment of myocardial infarction by intracoronary cell transplantation.