Figure 1.

Schematic representation of experimental procedures and timeline. Echocardiography on conscious mice was performed prior to, seven and 28 days following ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). Arterial and jugular catheterization was performed 28 days following the LAD ligation for the sampling and infusion protocols of the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic (insulin) clamp. Insulin clamps were performed following seven days of recovery from the catheterization surgeries (36 days post-LAD ligation/13 weeks of high-fat feeding) to assess insulin action in the conscious, unrestrained mouse. Isotopic tracer 2-[¹⁴C]deoxyglucose (2-[¹⁴C]DG) administration during the insulin clamps allowed for whole body and tissue-specific substrate uptake to be assessed in vivo. Additional experiments included evaluation of mitochondrial respiration in permeabilized cardiac tissue and key molecular regulators of metabolism by immunoblotting. MI + PBS, myocardial infarction + phospho-buffered saline; MI + MSC, myocardial infarction + mesenchymal stem cells.