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Relation of early mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cell infiltration to late scar thickness after experimentally induced myocardial infarction in the rat

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Summary

This report describes the relationship between the intensity of early inflammation after acute myocardial infarction and the later thickness of the left ventricular (LV) scar. Histologic sections of hearts from methylprednisolone-treated (MP), cobra venom factor-treated (CVF), and untreated control rats that had been subjected to either 2 or 21 days of coronary artery occlusion were studied. In the rats examined at 2 days (n=20 for MP, n=16 for CVF, and n=20 for controls), a semiquantitative inflammation score (1–4) was attributed to each infarct. Mononuclear (MN) cells were counted in 4 oil-immersion fields per section and polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells in 9 oil-immersion fields per section. In the rats examined at 21 days (n=22 for MP, n=22 for CVF, and n=26 for controls), the thickness of the LV scar was measured every 1.6 mm along its circumference. Inflammation scores at 2 days were 3.5±.6 for controls, 1.5±.5 for MP, and 2.9±.8 for CVF (p<.05 among groups). The MN cells counted were 73±7 for controls, 47±5 for MP, and 61±9 for CVF (p<.05 among groups). There was no difference in PMN infiltrate among groups. Scar thickness at 21 days were .9±.1 mm for controls, .7±.1 mm for MP, and .9±.1 mm for CVF (MP compared to CVF and controls, p<.01).

Thus, a severe reduction in early MN cell infiltration was associated later with thinner LV scars, while a moderate reduction did not alter scar formation. Furthermore, though MN cell infiltration was suppressed by MP and CVF, PMN cell infiltration was unaffected.

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Author notes

  1. R. A. Kloner M.D., Ph.D.

    Present address: Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 180 Longwood Ave., Room 235, Boston, Massachusetts, (U.S.A.)

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 180 Longwood Ave., Room 235, Boston, Massachusetts, (U.S.A.)

    Ch. S. Roberts, D. Maclean & P. Maroko

  2. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, (U.S.A.)

    Ch. S. Roberts, D. Maclean, P. Maroko & R. A. Kloner M.D., Ph.D.

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  1. Ch. S. Roberts
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  2. D. Maclean
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  3. P. Maroko
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  4. R. A. Kloner M.D., Ph.D.
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Additional information

Supported in part by Grants HL-28048 and SCOR HL-26215 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland

This work was done during the tenure of an Established Investigatorship from the American Heart Association and with funds contributed in part by the Massachusetts Heart Association

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Roberts, C.S., Maclean, D., Maroko, P. et al. Relation of early mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cell infiltration to late scar thickness after experimentally induced myocardial infarction in the rat. Basic Res Cardiol 80, 202–209 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01910468

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01910468

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