A SIMPLE METHOD FOR CARDIAC-SURGERY IN RATS

In our laboratory we have developed a relatively simple method for car diac surgery in rats, The operation is carried out through a small inc ision in the chest wall using inexpensive equipment. This method allow s for the delivery of tissue fragments and cells from a donor rat to a n intact or damaged area of ventricular myocardium of a host rat, with easy subsequent localisation of the transplanted/grafted tissue. The rats recover well after the surgery and survive for long periods of ti me. The technique could also be used for the direct injection of chemi cals or molecular probes into the heart. In our experiments we have fo und that embryonic rat cardiomyocytes that have been transplanted into adult host rat ventricular myocardium using this method survive and d evelop characteristics typical of heart muscle, thus indicating that u sing this technique the host heart offers a favourable environment for the transplanted embryonic heart cells.