German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Implantation of Combined Telemetric ECG and Blood Pressure Transmitters to Determine Spontaneous Baroreflex Sensitivity in Conscious Mice

René D. Rötzer¹, Verena F. Brox¹, Konstantin Hennis¹, Stefan B. Thalhammer¹, Martin Biel^1,2, Christian Wahl-Schott³, Stefanie Fenske^1,2

¹Center for Integrated Protein Science (CIPS-M) and Center for Drug Research, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, ²German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, ³Hannover Medical School, Institute for Neurophysiology

The baroreflex is a heart-rate regulation mechanism by the autonomic nervous system in response to blood-pressure changes. We describe a surgical technique to implant telemetry transmitters for continuous and simultaneous measurement of electrocardiogram and blood pressure in mice. This can determine spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity, an important prognostic marker for cardiovascular disease.

Biology

Three-Dimensional Imaging of Aortic Tissues in Atherosclerosis

Ting Sun^1,2,3, Mohammad R. Monjezi², Xu Xu², Changjun Yin^1,2,3,4, Andreas J.R. Habenicht^2,4, Sarajo K. Mohanta^2,4

¹Division of Vascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, ²Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, ³Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, ⁴German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance

Here, we present optimized tissue-clearing protocols to image the murine aorta in three dimensions (3D). We delineate state-of-the-art procedures for immunostaining, optical clearing, and imaging with the intent to define the anatomical proximity of the peripheral nervous system with atherosclerotic plaques and the adventitia in atherosclerosis.