Zellersatztherapie am Herzen: Fiktion oder reale Möglichkeit : Eine tierexperimentelle Annäherung (Stand der Wissenschaft)

Transmural cryolesions of a defined size were generated on the free left ventricular wall in mice. Using this approach, reproducible myocardial infarctions with a predictable decrease in myocardial function were generated. The potency of cellular cardiomyoplasty, employing different stem and progenitor cells, to improve contractility and impair electrical vulnerability was investigated. Intramyocardially injected fetal cardiomyocytes engrafted, showed further differentiation, increased left ventricular function and improved mid-term survival of the animals. Connexin 43 expressing cells coupled electrically to the host myocardium and reduced inducibility of ventricular arrhythmias.