Cardiomyocyte Transplantation in a Porcine Myocardial Infarction Model

Yorkshire pigs (n = 9) with myocardial infarction created by the placement of an embolization coil in the distal portion of the left anterior descending artery.

Grafting of a cardiac-derived cell line (HL-1 cells), normal fetal pig cardiomyocytes, or neonatal pig cardiomyocytes (1 × 10^6 cells/20 μL) into normal and into the middle of the infarcted myocardium, 4 to 5 weeks after creation of the infarct.

Histologic evaluation of graft sites (graft stability, angiogenesis, and cell coupling) 4 to 5 weeks after the cell grafts.surrogate