Langendorff-Free Isolation and Propagation of Adult Mouse Cardiomyocytes

Isolation of healthy, intact cardiomyocytes from the adult mouse heart for cardiac research is challenging. Traditional protocols depend upon specialized Langendorff apparatus, which requires extensive training and presents significant technical and logistical barriers. Described here is a much simplified technique, introducing optimized dissociation buffers to the heart by direct needle injection into the left ventricle, allowing deep myocardial perfusion and the isolation of high yields of viable, rod-shaped cardiomyocytes, using only standard surgical and laboratory equipment. This method also permits the concurrent isolation of cardiac non-myocyte cellular populations.