The protocol provides a detailed introduction to the experience of using the right heart catheterization method to detect pulmonary artery pressure in rats, which will help to obtain accurate data more efficiently and improve the success rate of the experiment. This method also improves the reproducibility of experiments across different laboratories.
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Method Article
Measurement of Pulmonary Artery Pressure in Rats Using Right Heart Catheterization
In This Article
Summary
Abstract
Pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) measured by right heart catheterization is considered the gold standard for diagnosing pulmonary hypertension. Rats have been used to establish models of pulmonary hypertension. However, when the beginners perform right heart catheterization to measure PAP in rat models of pulmonary hypertension, the catheter often inadvertently enters the inferior vena cava or becomes lodged in the right ventricle without reaching the pulmonary artery, leading to prolonged catheterization, which decreases heart rate in rats and provides distorted pressure readings. Furthermore, there is a risk of puncturing the right atrium, causing the experiment to fail. This study aims to share the experience of our laboratory in measuring PAP using right heart catheterization through a video presentation. We enumerate the surgical steps involved in right heart catheterization, as well as the tools required for the surgery. We improved the selection of catheters based on the properties of the catheter materials and described the method of catheter preparation. We also explained the process of inserting the catheter into the pulmonary artery and the determination of the catheter's position. We believe that this protocol will be helpful for beginners in measuring pulmonary artery pressure.
Introduction
Currently, pulmonary artery pressure measured by right heart catheterization is the gold standard for diagnosing pulmonary hypertension1. In humans and large animals, the floating catheter is mostly used for right heart catheterization2. However, in small animals (such as rats), due to the lack of suitable floating catheters, the application of this technique is limited, which brings inconvenience to scientific research on replicating pulmonary hypertension models using rats3. Rats typically used for modeling pulmonary hypertension generally have a weight range of 300-400 g. A smaller body size me....
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Protocol
All procedures were conducted according to the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care Committee of the Army Medical University. The procedures followed were performed in accordance with institutional guidelines. Due to the invasiveness of the right heart catheterization, the animals should be euthanized immediately after data acquisition. Euthanasia should be performed according to the institution's animal studies guidelines. Healthy male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, specific pathogen-free (SPF) grade, body weight 300 ± 20 g were used here.
1. Preparation of the catheter
- Select a venous infusion needle (PVC tube) with an outer....
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Results
We have published the data on the mean pulmonary arterial pressure of rats with chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension and normal control rats from the plains measured using this method7,8. The results are basically consistent with the data reported in the literature9,10,11,12. Using our method f.......
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Discussion
In 1970, Swan and Ganz reported the use of a floating catheter to measure pulmonary artery pressure13, establishing invasive right heart catheterization as the gold standard for diagnosing pulmonary hypertension14,15. However, in studies involving small animals such as rats, the size of the catheter limits the feasibility of closed-chest catheterization. In 1984, Bo et al.3described a method using a self-made right .......
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Disclosures
The authors declare no conflict of interest related to the publication of this article.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81971784, 81830062).
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Materials
| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-0 suture thread | Zhongke Huida | 23030306 | |
| 75% alcohol disinfectant | Shandong Zhuojian Medical Technology Co., LTD. | Q/371402SDZJ005 | |
| Beaker | Chengdu Glass Instrument Factory | GG-17 | 250mL |
| Copper wire | ThermoFisher | 000098.G2 | |
| Heating pad | Tigergene Technology Inc | TG-TP-BS | 20×35cm |
| Hemostatic forceps | Beyotime | FS245 | |
| Intravenous infusion needle | Hanjiang County Great Wall Medical Equipment Factory | GB 18671-2002 | |
| LabChart Pro Upgrade v7 for Windows | AD Instruments | GR85-XNCB-MEDA | |
| Medical cotton swab | Huatai Medical Equipment Co., LTD. | YY/T 10330-2015 | |
| Multi-channel physiological recording system (PowerLab 4/35, AD Instruments) | AD Instruments | PowerLab 4/35 | |
| Needle | Shanghai Kindly Enterprise Development Group Co.,LTD. | 0.7×32 TW LB | |
| Normal saline | Servicebio | G4702-500ML | solvent?Cleaning fluid |
| Ophthalmic curved forceps | Beyotime | FS229 | |
| Pressure transducers | AD Instruments | SP 844 | |
| Rat operating table | YUYAN INSTRUMENTS | 30351 | |
| Sodium heparin | biosharp | BS145 | Anticoagulant effect |
| Sodium Pentobarbital | sigma-aldrich | P3761 | It is used to anesthetize rats |
| Sterile syringe | Shanghai Kindly Enterprise Development Group Co.,LTD. | 5ml | |
| Surgical blade | Beyotime | FS205 | Used for making the pad |
| Three-way stopcock | B.Braun | 409511CN | |
| Tissue scissors | Beyotime | FS209 |
References
- Krishnan, A., Markham, R., Savage, M., Wong, Y. W., Walters, D. Right Heart Catheterisation: How To Do It. Heart Lung Circ. 28 (4), e71-e78 (2019).
- Kosova, E., Ricciardi, M. Cardiac Catheterization. JAMA. 317 (22), 2344(2017).
- Sun, P., Liu, W. L.
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