A Murine Model of Pressure Overload-Induced Right Ventricular Hypertrophy and Failure by Pulmonary Trunk Banding

Summary

We describe a murine model of right ventricular pressure overload-induced by pulmonary trunk banding. Detailed protocols for intubation, surgery, and phenotyping by echocardiography are included in the paper. Custom-made instruments are used for intubation and surgery, allowing for fast and inexpensive reproduction of the model.

Abstract

Right ventricular (RV) failure caused by pressure overload is strongly associated with morbidity and mortality in a number of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. The pathogenesis of RV failure is complex and remains inadequately understood. To identify new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of RV failure, robust and reproducible animal models are essential. Models of pulmonary trunk banding (PTB) have gained popularity, as RV function can be assessed independently of changes in the pulmonary vasculature.

In this paper, we present a murine model of RV pressure overload induced by PTB in 5-week-old mice. The model can be used to induce different degrees of RV pathology, ranging from mild RV hypertrophy to decompensated RV failure. Detailed protocols for intubation, PTB surgery, and phenotyping by echocardiography are included in the paper. Furthermore, instructions for customizing instruments for intubation and PTB surgery are given, enabling fast and inexpensive reproduction of the PTB model.

Titanium ligating clips were used to constrict the pulmonary trunk, ensuring a highly reproducible and operator-independent degree of pulmonary trunk constriction. The severity of PTB was graded by using different inner ligating clip diameters (mild: 450 µm and severe: 250 µm). This resulted in RV pathology ranging from hypertrophy with preserved RV function to decompensated RV failure with reduced cardiac output and extracardiac manifestations. RV function was assessed by echocardiography at 1 week and 3 weeks after surgery. Examples of echocardiographic images and results are presented here. Furthermore, results from right heart catheterization and histological analyses of cardiac tissue are shown.

Introduction

Right ventricular (RV) failure is a clinical syndrome with symptoms of heart failure and signs of systemic congestion resulting from RV dysfunction¹. RV dysfunction is strongly associated with morbidity and mortality in a number of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases². The etiology of RV dysfunction is complex, and its underlying signaling pathways and regulation remain inadequately elucidated.

Observations from current therapies show that improved RV function correlates closely to afterload reduction, suggesting pulmonary vasculature as the primary treatment target³.....

Protocol

The study was approved by the Danish Animal Experiments Inspectorate (authorization number: 2021-15-0201-00928) and was performed in accordance with the national laboratory animal legislation. This study used 5-week-old male C57BL/6N mice.

1. Customization of instruments for intubation and surgery (Figure 1)

NOTE: This section details the most important steps in the preparation of custom-made instruments .......

Discussion

In this paper, we present a murine model of pressure overload-induced RV hypertrophy and failure. We demonstrate that: (i) PTB in juvenile mice can induce varying degrees of RV pathology, ranging from mild RV hypertrophy to RV failure with extracardiac signs of decompensation and histologically confirmed RV fibrosis. (ii) Signs of RV dysfunction can be observed and quantified by echocardiography at 1 and 3 weeks after PTB surgery. (iii) The degree of RV hypertrophy is proportional to the severity of PTB and the.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Biosyn 6-0, monofilament, absorbable suture	Covidien	UM-986
Blunt cannula, 27G 0.4x0.25,	Sterican	292832
Bupaq Multidose vet 0,3 mg/ml (Buprenorphinum)	Salfarm Danmark	VNR 472318
C57BL/6NTac mice	Taconic Biosciences	C57BL/6NTac
Dagrofil 1, braided, non-absorbable suture	B Braun	C0842273
Depilatory cream	Veet	3132000
Disinfection Swabs (82% Ethanol + 0.5% Chlorhexidine)	Mediq	3340122
Disposable scalpels, size 11	Swann-Morton	11708353
Dräger Vapor 2000 Sevoflurane	Dräger	M35054
Eye oinment neutral, "Ophta"	Actavis	MTnr.: 07586 Vnr: 53 96 68
Horizon ligating clips	Teleflex Medical	5200 (IPN914931)
Horizon Open Ligating Clips applier, curved, 6" (15 cm)	Teleflex Medical	537061
Kitchen roll holder	n.a.	n.a.
Metal wire of different thickness	n.a.	n.a.
Microsurgical instruments set	Thompson	n.a.
MiniVent Ventilator	Hugo Sachs	Type 845
MS505S transducer	Visual sonics	n.a.
Rimadyl Bovis vet. 50 mg/ml (Carprofen)	Zoetis	MTnr: 34547, Vnr: 10 27 99,
Sevoflurane Baxter 100 %	Baxter Medical	MTnr: 35015
Silicone tubing	n.a.	n.a.
Soft plastic sheet	n.a.	n.a.
Stereomicroscope, "Opmi Pico"	Carl Zeiss Surgicals GmbH	n.a.
Ultrasonic probe holder/rail	Visual Sonics	11277
Varming plate	Visual sonics	11437
Venflon ProSafety, 22G, 0,9 x 25mm	Becton Dickinson	393222