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Jia H, Chang Y, Song J. The pig as an optimal animal model for cardiovascular research. Lab Anim (NY) 2024; 53:136-147. [PMID: 38773343 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-024-01377-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is a worldwide health problem and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Preclinical cardiovascular research using animals is needed to explore potential targets and therapeutic options. Compared with rodents, pigs have many advantages, with their anatomy, physiology, metabolism and immune system being more similar to humans. Here we present an overview of the available pig models for cardiovascular diseases, discuss their advantages over other models and propose the concept of standardized models to improve translation to the clinical setting and control research costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Jia
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Preclinical Research and Evaluation for Cardiovascular Implant Materials, Animal Experimental Centre, National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Chang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Preclinical Research and Evaluation for Cardiovascular Implant Materials, Animal Experimental Centre, National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jiangping Song
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Preclinical Research and Evaluation for Cardiovascular Implant Materials, Animal Experimental Centre, National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
- Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya, China.
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Wang Y, Panicker IS, Anesi J, Sargisson O, Atchison B, Habenicht AJR. Animal Models, Pathogenesis, and Potential Treatment of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:901. [PMID: 38255976 PMCID: PMC10815651 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25020901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) has a prevalence of 0.16-0.34% and an incidence of 7.6 per 100,000 person-years, accounting for 1-2% of all deaths in Western countries. Currently, no effective pharmacological therapies have been identified to slow TAA development and prevent TAA rupture. Large TAAs are treated with open surgical repair and less invasive thoracic endovascular aortic repair, both of which have high perioperative mortality risk. Therefore, there is an urgent medical need to identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying TAA development and rupture to develop new therapies. In this review, we summarize animal TAA models including recent developments in porcine and zebrafish models: porcine models can assess new therapeutic devices or intervention strategies in a large mammal and zebrafish models can employ large-scale small-molecule suppressor screening in microwells. The second part of the review covers current views of TAA pathogenesis, derived from recent studies using these animal models, with a focus on the roles of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) pathway and the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC)-elastin-contractile unit. The last part discusses TAA treatment options as they emerge from recent preclinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yutang Wang
- Discipline of Life Science, Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, VIC 3353, Australia; (I.S.P.)
| | - Indu S. Panicker
- Discipline of Life Science, Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, VIC 3353, Australia; (I.S.P.)
| | - Jack Anesi
- Discipline of Life Science, Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, VIC 3353, Australia; (I.S.P.)
| | - Owen Sargisson
- Discipline of Life Science, Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, VIC 3353, Australia; (I.S.P.)
| | - Benjamin Atchison
- Discipline of Life Science, Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, VIC 3353, Australia; (I.S.P.)
| | - Andreas J. R. Habenicht
- Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), 80336 Munich, Germany;
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Stonko DP, Treffalls RN, Edwards J, Abdou H, Lang E, Stonko DC, Cullen P, Hicks CW, Morrison JJ. How to TEVAR swine for scientific research: Technical, anatomic, and device considerations to translate human TEVAR techniques into the large animal laboratory. Vascular 2023:17085381231162121. [PMID: 36880298 DOI: 10.1177/17085381231162121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) is well established in humans. Despite widespread use, additional research questions related to thoracic aortic stenting and endovascular innovation require large animal models. Translating human TEVAR devices and techniques into animal models, however, is a challenge even for experienced endovascular surgeons looking to develop a large animal TEVAR model.This article describes swine-specific strategies to deploy human TEVAR stent grafts, delineate how to select, size, prepare, and re-use human stents and deployment systems in swine, and how to translate human imaging modalities to large animal TEVAR. METHODS We describe a selection of related TEVAR models and techniques in Yorkshire swine to support scientific inquiry. This includes an animal husbandry and pre-operative preparation and planning program. All imaged specimens in this paper are castrated male Yorkshire swine in the 60-80 kg range and underwent TEVAR with the Medtronic Navion stent and deployment system. RESULTS To study human aortic stent grafts in swine, the animals generally must be at least 50 kgs to guarantee a 2 cm internal aortic diameter at the left subclavian, and for the iliac arteries to accommodate the human deployment system. Swine will have longer torsos and shorter iliofemoral segments than a human of the same weight which can make human deployment systems too short to reach the left subclavian from the femoral arteries in larger animals. We provide techniques to overcome this, including open iliac access or upside-down carotid TEVAR, which may be particularly useful if the scientific data would be confounded by iliofemoral access.Unlike humans that present clinically with axial imaging, swine will generally not have preoperative imaging, and many translational research laboratories do not have access to inexpensive preoperative CT, or any intraoperative CT scanning, which we are fortunate to have. We describe, therefore, several strategies for imaging in this setting including TEVAR via C-arm fluoroscopy and with or without in-laboratory CT scanning. Due to the low-resource setting of most large animal laboratories, as compared to a human hybrid room, we also describe several techniques to reduce cost and reuse materials, including the stent grafts, which at the end of non-survival experiments can be recovered during necropsy, cleaned, reinserted into the deployment device and reused on additional animals. CONCLUSIONS This article describes a collection of related techniques and tips to translate human TEVAR imaging, sizing/selection, deployment, and anatomy to swine research. Using this framework alone, an experienced human vascular or endovascular surgeon may develop a complete aortic stenting animal model with strategies for scientific data acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- David P Stonko
- Department of Surgery, 160877The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA
- R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 1479University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Rebecca N Treffalls
- R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 1479University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joseph Edwards
- R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 1479University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hossam Abdou
- R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 1479University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Eric Lang
- R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 1479University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Daniel C Stonko
- R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 1479University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Pierce Cullen
- R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 1479University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Caitlin W Hicks
- Divison of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, 160877The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jonathan J Morrison
- R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 1479University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Deng J, Li D, Zhang X, Lu W, Rong D, Wang X, Sun G, Jia S, Zhang H, Jia X, Guo W. Murine model of elastase-induced proximal thoracic aortic aneurysm through a midline incision in the anterior neck. Front Cardiovasc Med 2023; 10:953514. [PMID: 36815017 PMCID: PMC9939838 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.953514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective This study was performed to develop a murine model of elastase-induced proximal thoracic aortic aneurysms (PTAAs). Methods The ascending thoracic aorta and aortic arch of adult C57BL/6J male mice were exposed through a midline incision in the anterior neck, followed by peri-adventitial elastase or saline application. The maximal ascending thoracic aorta diameter was measured with high-resolution micro-ultrasound. Twenty-eight days after the operation, the aortas were harvested and analyzed by histopathological examination and qualitative polymerase chain reaction to determine the basic characteristics of the aneurysmal lesions. Results Fourteen days after the operation, the dilation rate (mean ± standard error) in the 10-min elastase application group (n = 10, 71.44 ± 10.45%) or 5-min application group (n = 9, 42.67 ± 3.72%) were significantly higher than that in the saline application group (n = 9, 7.37 ± 0.94%, P < 0.001 for both). Histopathological examination revealed aortic wall thickening, degradation of elastin fibers, loss of smooth muscle cells, more vasa vasorum, enhanced extracellular matrix degradation, augmented collagen synthesis, upregulated apoptosis and proliferation capacity of smooth muscle cells, and increased macrophages and CD4+ T cells infiltration in the PTAA lesions. Qualitative analyses indicated higher expression of the proinflammatory markers, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 as well as Collagen III, Collagen I in the PTAAs than in the controls. Conclusion We established a novel in vivo mouse model of PTAAs through a midline incision in the anterior neck by peri-adventitial application of elastase. This model may facilitate research into the pathogenesis of PTAA formation and the treatment strategy for this devastating disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianqing Deng
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Sixth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Dandan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xuelin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Weihang Lu
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Dan Rong
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Xinhao Wang
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Guoyi Sun
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Senhao Jia
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Hongpeng Zhang
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Jia
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Guo
- Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,*Correspondence: Wei Guo,
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