Measuring left ventricular function in mice using a pressure-volume conductance catheter

Kirsty Foote, Elspeth Elliott, Ewan Cameron, Christopher Loughrey University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.

The need for accurate assessment of murine cardiac function is becoming especially important for studies designed to investigate pathophysiological and genetic interventions of cardiovascular diseases. Left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume relationships have emerged as one of the most rigorous and comprehensive methods for characterising cardiac performance in vivo and with the development of miniature conductance catheters it has since become feasible to apply this methodology to mice. Using a closed-chest surgical protocol, a single 1.4-F Scisense catheter was introduced into the left ventricle of the heart via the right carotid artery and instantaneous pressure-volume loops measured. Load-independent parameters of contractility were evaluated by inferior vena caval occlusion and the volume correction due to parallel conductance ascertained by an intravenous hypertonic saline bolus at the conclusion of the experiment. Haemodynamic parameters derived from pressure-volume analysis of control mice were found to be statistically similar across the control group indicating reproducibility in the technique. Our results were also found to be consistent with reports from other groups performing pressure-volume analysis in mice (Yang, Larson & Watson, 1999; Georgakopoulos & Kass, 2000a; Yang et al., 2001). The pressure-volume measurements confirmed that the technique offers a reliable and reproducible approach to measure in vivo cardiac function in mice. We propose to apply this technique to a mouse model of myocardial infarction to advance our understanding of the pathology of chronic ventricular dysfunction.

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Georgakopoulos , D., & Kass, D.A. (2000). Estimation of parallel conductance by dual-frequency conductance catheter in mice. American Journal of Physiology Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 279(1), H443-H450.
Yang, B., Larson, D.F., Beischel, J., Kelly, R., Shi, J., & Watson, R.R. (2001). Validation of conductance catheter system for quantification of murine pressure-volume loops. Journal of Investigative Surgery, 14(6), 341-355.