Research - Y. Joseph Woo, Research Laboratory

Cardiovascular Research Laboratory Harrison Department of Surgical Research
Y. Joseph Woo, M.D.

Basic Science Research

All research involving animal models at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is conducted in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and has been reviewed and approved by the IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee).

Animal Models
Our laboratory has utilized experimental models of ischemic cardiomyopathy successfully in mice, rats, pigs, and sheep.

LAD ligation in the mouse creates an anteroapical infarction, which results in predictable progression to heart failure over a 4-6 week period.

In Lewis rats, ligation of the LAD creates a consistent infarction encompassing 35%
of the LV, allowing accurate comparison between experimental and control animals.

Hematoxylin and Eosin stained myocardial sections of normal hearts and failing hearts 6 weeks following LAD ligation (rat).

Due to the arrhythmogenic potential of the pig heart, acute coronary ligation to produce a model of ischemic heart failure can not be performed. Alternatively, an ameroid constrictor is placed around the left circumflex coronary artery to occlude the vessel gradually over four weeks due to hygroscopic casein-mediated expansion of the ameroid core. During this period the animal develops regional wall motion abnormalities and global ventricular dysfunction.

Sheep heart after LAD and diagonal coronary ligation demonstrating ischemic left ventricular anteroapex.

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