Cellular cardiomyoplasty into infracted swines hearts by retrograde infusion through the venous coronary sinus. An experimental study

The aim was to create a model of myocardial infarction with a borderline myocardial impairment which would enables to evaluate the retrograde cellular cardiomyoplasty through the venous coronary sinus in a large animal model. Materials and methods 15 (study group) and 10 juvenile farm pigs (control group) underwent distal left anterior descending artery ligation. One month later the study group animals underwent sternotomy and a murine myoblastic line C2-C12 was injected at a constant pressure of 30 mmHg, into the coronary sinus. 30 days later all survived animals from both groups underwent transthoracic echocardiography and 99Tc Scintigraphy and later were euthanized and specimens were taken for microscopic evaluation. Results Cardiac output decreased significantly after ligation (p < 0.001) and increased significantly after cardiomyoblasty (p < 0.001). In all animals, the surgical induction of myocardial infarction caused a marked decline in the echocardiographic values of cardiac function however, the cardiac function and dimensions were significantly improved in the study group after cardiomyoplasty versus the control group. All animals undergoing cardiomyoblasty demonstrated a significant reduction of the perfusion deficit in the left anterior descending artery territory, instead such data remained unchanged in the control group. The histological examination demonstrated the engrafted myoblasts could be distinguished from the activated fibroblasts in the scar tissue because they never showed any signs of collagen secretion and fiber buildup. Conclusions As conclusion, the venous retrograde delivery route through the coronary sinus is safe and effective, providing a significant improvement in function and viability.