Induction of Myocardial Infarction and Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Mice

Acute myocardial infarction is a common cardiovascular disease with high mortality. Myocardial reperfusion injury can counteract the beneficial effects of heart reflow and induce secondary myocardial injury. A simple and reproducible model of myocardial infarction and myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury is a good tool for researchers. Here, a customizable method to create a myocardial infarction (MI) model and MIRI by precision ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) through micromanipulation is described. Accurate and reproducible ligature positioning of the LAD helps obtain consistent results for heart injury. ST-segment changes can help to identify model accuracy. The serum level of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) is used to assess the myocardial injury, cardiac ultrasound is employed to evaluate the myocardial systolic function, and Evans-Blue/triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining is used to measure infarct size. In general, this protocol reduces procedure duration, ensures controllable infarct size, and improves mouse survival.