Protocol for simultaneous isolation of high-quality and high-quantity cardiomyocytes and non-myocyte cells from adult rat hearts.

Abstract

Isolating high-quality different cell types is a powerful approach for understanding cellular compositions and features in the heart, but it is challenging. The available protocols typically focus on isolating one or two cell types. Here, we present a protocol to simultaneously isolate high-quality and high-quantity cardiomyocytes and non-myocyte cells, including immune cells, from adult rat hearts. We describe steps for purifying cells using bovine serum albumin. We also detail procedures for viability analysis and cell type identification using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zhang et al.,¹ Valkov et al.,² Vang et al.,³ and Li et al.⁴.