*2.4. Flow Cytometry*

To study infiltration of different leukocyte subsets into the cardiac tissue, flow cytometry was performed at day 21. The hearts were removed, perfused with PBS, subsequently cut in small pieces, and incubated with Liberase (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) for 45 min at 37 ◦C. Next, the suspension was mixed gently, filtered through a 40 μm cell strainer, and subsequently suspended in PBS. Cells were stained with a APC-conjugated rat anti-mouse CD11b antibody (clone M1-70, BD, Franklin Lakes, NJ), PE-conjugated rat anti-mouse Ly6G antibody (clone 1A8, Biolegend, San Diego, CA, USA), PerCP-conjugated rat anti-mouse CD45 antibody (clone 30F-11, BD), PB-conjugated rat anti-mouse CD4 antibody (clone RM4-5, BD), an APC rat anti-mouse F4/80 antibody (clone BM8, Biolegend) and FITC-conjugated rat anti-mouse CD133 antibody (clone EMK08, ThermoFisher, Waltham, MA, USA). Experiments were performed using a Gallios flow cytometer (Beckman Coulter, Krefeld, Germany). FlowJo software (TreeStar, Ashland, OR) was used to analyze data.
