2.4. Determination of Myocardial Infarct Size

Assessment of infarct size was determined by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, as described previously [15]. Briefly, at the indicated time point, the rat heart was sliced into five equal pieces at a line parallel to the coronary sulcus and below the ligation of the heart. The slices were then incubated with 1% TTC solution at 37°C for 15 min. Image-Pro Plus 5.0 software (Media Cybernetics, Rockville, MD, USA) was used to analyze the infarct (white) and noninfarct (red) areas after the images were captured using a high-resolution camera. The percentage of myocardial infarct was calculated as the infarct area divided by the total area.