nd cardiac function The therapeutic effects of stem cells usually do not apparent until 2 to 4 weeks after implantation; the status of the heart 1 week after procedure is similar to that of the baseline status. Therefore, at the baseline and endpoint, 99mTc-methoxyisobutyl isonitrile single photon emission computed tomography was performed to evaluate the fixed perfusion defect, representing the size of infarction. 18F-deoxyglucose INK1117 web positron emission tomography-computed tomography was utilized to estimate viable myocardium after AMI. Cine magnetic resonance imaging and contrastenhancement MRI were performed using a 1.5 T MRI scanner with a phase-array radiofrequency receiver coil. The cardiac function and geometry indices were detected by MRI as previously described. 3. Isolation and culture of swine bone marrow MSCs Autologous bone marrow MSCs were isolated and cultured as 16824511 previously described. 50 ml of bone marrow aspirated from the iliac crest was used for preparation of mononuclear cells by centrifugation through 1.077 g/ml Percoll. Cells were then suspended at a density of 56105/cm2 in a low-glucose DMEM medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum. The medium was changed every 3 days. After 1518 days, MSCs of passage 45 were detached, labeled with 496-diamidino-2phenylindole dihydrochloride and chloromethyl-benzamido derivative of 1,19-dioctadecyl3,3,3939-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate, and kept in 1000 mL warm DMEM for transplantation.The purity of MSCs was determined by fluorescent flow cytometry, according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The viability in vitro was detected by trypan blue dye exclusion assay. Differentiation potential inducted by 5-azacytdine was assessed by immunocytochemistry with specific antibodies against muscle-specific proteins. 7. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry At 4 weeks, animals were anesthetized and euthanized with saturated solution of potassium chloride. The left ventricle of every heart was cut into 8 fragments from the apex to the base, and 5 5mmthick sections were randomly chosen from regions where cells or placebo were injected in every fragment. The Triphenyltetrazolium chloride, Hematoxylin and Eosin, Masson’s Trichrome, and Factor VIII stains were performed. Inflammation scores and collagen volume fraction were calculated. Five images were randomly selected in every fifth cross-section in each group, and were explored with Image-Pro Plus 6.0 by an independent investigator, and classified them according to the following criteria as reported previously. Inflammation score: 0. No inflammatory lesion; 1. rare focal inflammatory lesions; 2. multiple isolated foci of inflammation; 3. diffuse inflammation; 4. diffuse inflammation; 5. diffuse inflammation 4. AMI model, cell transplantation, and treatment 
administration Swine were sedated with ketamine and valium, endotracheally intubated, and connected to a ventilator. Midline sternotomy was performed. The left anterior Atorvastatin Enhances MSCs Treating MI via NOS or with necrosis. Collagen volume fraction was calculated as the area occupied by collagens divided by the total area. Apoptosis was evaluated using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling assay kit. The TUNEL-positive cells were counted in 10 different 18004284 microscopic fields of at least three different sections from each animal. The percentage of apoptotic cells was termed as the apoptotic index. Results Five animals died before sacrifice. Four
