Development of abnormal tissue architecture in transplanted neonatal rat myocytes.

Background: Most myocardial cell transplant studies focus on demonstration of improved function; however, such improvement depends on the development of appropriate tissue structure. Thus, our aim was to assess the architectural changes that occurred after cell transplant into normal and infarcted myocardium.

Methods: Male neonatal cells (1 to 2 days old) were injected into the left ventricular free wall of adult female rats.