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Patients with acquired and congenital cardiovascular diseases, including pulmonary hypertension (PH), are at risk of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and failure1. RV adaptation as a result of increased pressure load is characterized by concentric hypertrophy in early stages and progressive dilatation in end-stage disease. Furthermore, it is associated with disorders in metabolism and the extracellular matrix, processes of inflammation and, eventually, RV failure2,3,4,5,6. Animal models have been developed to explore the underlying processes of the progression towards RV failure. However, optimization of models and adequate assessment of RV function and dimensions has been challenging. For noninvasive assessment of RV function and dimensions, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is the golden standard. This technique creates images of the beating heart by using a strong magnetic field and radiofrequency waves. CMR is available for humans, and for animals such as laboratory rodents. As the latter require higher spatial resolution due to the smaller size of the heart, the magnetic field required to provide adequate images must be higher, compared to humans.
Multiple models mimicking RV pressure overload are available, including models of PH7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 and models of proximal RV pressure load2,3,10,18,19,20,21,22,23. The choice of either a model of PH or a model of proximal RV pressure load depends on the research question: the effect of an intervention on the pulmonary vasculature and therefore possibly RV afterload modulation (i.e., PH models), or the direct effect on the RV (i.e., proximal RV pressure load models). Several methods for experimental induction of PH are available, including use of monocrotaline (MCT)12,13,14,16,22,24,25,26, MCT combined with an aortocaval shunt9, chronic hypoxia7,27,28,29, and the combination of a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor antagonist, Sugen 5416, with chronic hypoxia8,10,30,31. Such models represent progressive pulmonary models of proximal RV pressure load and are not targeted at the pulmonary vasculature but induce a constant afterload by constriction of the pulmonary artery, with an accompanying increase of RV afterload2,3. This can be performed by a suture-banding (pulmonary artery banding, PAB) or a vascular clip around the pulmonary artery. PAB has been performed in several animal species, and cardiac dimensions and function have been studied in various ways, such as histology, transthoracic echocardiography (including speckle tracking), and heart catheterization2,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40. PAB in small rodents, such as mice, is challenging. This is because subtle differences between the tightness of artery constriction have marked results on the degree of RV pressure load and subsequent functional status and survival. When the constriction is very tight, the animal will die during or shortly after operation, whereas the desired phenotype will not be achieved when the constriction is not tight enough. However, the use of mice has advantages compared to other animals, because of the excellent genetic modification possibilities (i.e., transgenic or knockout models) and fast breeding. This is of added value in the study of diseases and in exploring the contribution of molecular and (epi-) genetic factors.
Animal study designs are shifting towards the investigation of temporal changes during disease2,3,8,13,21. For such studies, noninvasive modalities are necessary, because serial assessments can be performed. Alternatives to CMR in the assessment of cardiac remodeling could be (1) tissue characterization using histopathology, with multiple animals being sacrificed at different time points, (2) invasive functional assessment by pressure-volume analysis, or (3) echocardiography, which allows the researcher to identify cardiac hypertrophy or dilatation noninvasively within the same animal serially. CMR has two major advantages in assessment of the RV: (1) CMR is a noninvasive modality, enabling serial measurements in one animal, hereby contributing to reducing animal numbers needed for studies, and (2) CMR does not rely on a particular geometric shape and visualizes three-dimensionally. CMR-derived RV volumes and function measurements have been shown to be accurate and are considered to be the noninvasive golden standard in different cardiac entities in humans42,43,44,45, but had not yet been translated to a CMR protocol for mice with RV pressure overload.
Many models of PAB are described in the literature, but with high heterogeneity in methods of assessing hemodynamic effects and RV function and adaptation. This protocol outlines the procedure of PAB in mice with validation of the model by measuring the PAB gradient by echocardiography and evaluating cardiac dimensions and function with CMR. While a protocol of CMR in animals subjected to PAB has been published for rats, this combination has not been described for mice until now. While rats are most commonly used for PH models8,12,13,14,15,16,22,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,46, mice are most often used for transgenic or knock-out studies and thereby contribute to our understanding of mechanisms in pressure-loaded RV failure. This protocol could form the basis for future studies to unravel signaling pathways involved in the transition towards RV failure.