title: Progenitor cell homing in the postischemic myocardium: just an unmotivated pitstop in the microcirculation?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We developed a model for direct assessment of BMC sequestration in the postischemic murine myocardium after direct antegrade intracoronary injection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Modified syngeneic heterotopic heart transplantation was used as a basic model for global myocardial I/R injury in a total of n = 29 animals. IVM was employed to analyze the right ventricular subepicardial coronary microcirculation and for tracking fluorescently labeled BMCs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IVM allowed monitoring all segments of the coronary microcirculation including feeding arterioles, nutritive capillaries, and postcapillary venules. WI and generalized atherosclerosis induced profound reperfusion failure, particularly in nutritive myocardial capillaries. BMCs were found to exclusively sequester in myocardial capillaries, but not in coronary arterioles or postcapillary venules. The sequestration of BMCs in coronary capillaries occurred independent of WI, generalized atherosclerosis, or adhesion molecule function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study allowing direct assessment of BMC homing to the postischemic myocardium. Heterotopic heart transplantation and IVM are proper means to study the myocardial sequestration of BMCs after direct antegrade intracoronary injection in vivo. We show for the first time that intracoronarily injected BMCs sequester exclusively in nutritive myocardial capillaries.
authors: Institute for Clinical and Experimental Surgery, University of Saarland, Homburg/Saar, Germany.
authors: Fabio
authors: F
authors: Tuche
authors: Michael D
authors: MD
authors: Menger
authors: Christina
authors: C
authors: Körbel
authors: Ruth M
authors: RM
authors: Nickels
authors: Eliete
authors: E
authors: Bouskela
authors: René
authors: R
authors: Schramm
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008833:Microcirculation; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016042:Transplantation, Heterotopic; D014185:Transplantation, Isogeneic