title: Visualizing the complex 3D geometry of the perfusion border zone in isolated rabbit heart.
abstract: Myocardial infarction, caused by a major blockage of a coronary artery, creates a border zone (BZ) between perfused and nonperfused tissue, which is believed to be the origin of fatal cardiac arrhythmias. We used a combination of optical clearing and polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography to visualize a three-dimensional organization of the BZ in isolated rabbit hearts (n=5) at the microscopic level with a high spatial resolution. We found that the BZ has a complex three-dimensional structure with nonperfused areas penetrating into perfused tissue with finger-like projections. These "fingers" may play an important role in the initiation and maintenance of ventricular arrhythmias.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Saalini S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Velamakanni
authors.forename: Taner
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akkin
authors.forename: Elena G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Tolkacheva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D011817:Rabbits; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*