In Vivo Contrast Enhanced MRI for Quantification of Cardiac Function and Infarct Size After Stem Cell Therapies in Mice

¹Biomedical NMR, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands; ²Institute for Physiology I, Life and Brain Centre, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

The degenerative effects of myocardial infarction and LV remodeling can be partially counteracted by the use of stem cell therapies. In the current study, skeletal myoblasts and mesenchymal stem cells were transplanted in mice with myocardial infarction induced by either cryoinjury or permanent ligation of the left coronary artery. In vivo MRI performed at 14 days after transplantation demonstrated improved cardiac function, as deduced from CINE MRI, and a reduction in infarct size, as determined by the delayed enhancement of infarcted myocardium after intravenous injection of Gd-DTPA.