title: LAD-ligation: a murine model of myocardial infarction.
abstract: Research models of infarction and myocardial ischemia are essential to investigate the acute and chronic pathobiological and pathophysiological processes in myocardial ischemia and to develop and optimize future treatment. Two different methods of creating myocardial ischemia are performed in laboratory rodents. The first method is to create cryo infarction, a fast but inaccurate technique, where a cryo-pen is applied on the surface of the heart (1-3). Using this method the scientist can not guarantee that the cryo-scar leads to ischemia, also a vast myocardial injury is created that shows pathophysiological side effects that are not related to myocardial infarction. The second method is the permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery (LAD). Here the LAD is ligated with one single stitch, forming an ischemia that can be seen almost immediately. By closing the LAD, no further blood flow is permitted in that area, while the surrounding myocardial tissue is nearly not affected. This surgical procedure imitates the pathobiological and pathophysiological aspects occurring in infarction-related myocardial ischemia. The method introduced in this video demonstrates the surgical procedure of a mouse infarction model by ligating the LAD. This model is convenient for pathobiological and pathophysiological as well as immunobiological studies on cardiac infarction. The shown technique provides high accuracy and correlates well with histological sections.
authors.affiliation: Transplant and Stem Cell Immunobiology Lab (TSI), University Heart Center Hamburg.
authors.forename: Mandy V V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Kolk
authors.forename: Danja
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meyberg
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deuse
authors.forename: Karis R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Tang-Quan
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reichenspurner
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schrepfer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000601:surgery*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008026:Ligation / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009203:Myocardial Infarction