Fig 1.

Experimental protocol. Three groups of WT mice were used (groups I–III, n= 7–11 mice/group). Four days after a baseline echocardiogram, mice underwent a 30 min. coronary occlusion followed by reperfusion. Forty-eight hours after MI, mice received intramyocardial injection of vehicle (group I), culture-expanded, untreated VSEL-SCs (group II) or culture-expanded VSEL-SCs incubated in cardiomyogenic medium (group III). Echocardiograms were repeated at 48 hrs after cell transplantation and at 35 days after MI. At 35 days after MI, mice were killed for morphometric and histological studies.