This protocol describes a composite animal model with exposure to particulate matter (PM) that aggravates myocardial ischemia with atherosclerosis.
The health problems caused by air pollution (especially particulate pollution) are getting more and more attention, especially among cardiovascular disease patients, which aggravates complicated disorders and causes poor prognosis. The simple myocardial ischemia (MI) or particulate matter (PM) exposure model is unsuitable for such studies of diseases with multiple causes. Here, a method for constructing a composite model combining PM exposure, atherosclerosis, and myocardial ischemia has been described. ApoE−/− mice were fed with a high-fat diet for 16 weeks to develop atherosclerosis, tracheal instillation of PM standard suspension was performed to simulate the pulmonary exposure of PM, and the left anterior descending coronary artery was ligated one week after the last exposure. Tracheal instillation of PM can simulate acute lung exposure while significantly reducing the cost of the experiment; the classic left anterior descending artery ligation with noninvasive tracheal intubation and a new auxiliary expansion device can ensure the animal's survival rate and reduce the difficulty of the operation. This animal model can reasonably simulate the patient's pathological changes of myocardial infarction aggravated by air pollution and provide a reference for the construction of animal models related to studies involving diseases with multiple causes.
Air pollution has been associated with high all-cause mortality and contributed a significant burden of disease more than the sum of water pollution, soil pollution, and occupational exposure1. A report from WHO revealed that outdoor air pollution caused 4.2 million premature deaths in both cities and rural areas worldwide in 20162. 91% of people worldwide live in places where air quality exceeds WHO guideline limits2. Further, the fine particulate matter (PM) (≤2.5 µm in diameter, PM2.5) is recognized as the most significant air pollution threat to global public health3, especially to the people who live in cities of low-income and middle-income countries.
The adverse effects of air pollution on cardiovascular diseases deserve more attention. Previous studies have shown that PM leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVDs)4. Exposure to high concentrations of ultrafine particles for several hours can lead to increased myocardial infarction mortality. For people with a history of myocardial infarction, exposure to ultrafine particles can significantly increase the risk of recurrence5. Moreover, it is generally accepted that PM exposure accelerates the progression of atherosclerosis6.
For medical research, it is crucial to select a suitable animal model. Simple atherosclerosis animal models7, myocardial ischemia animal models8, and PM exposure animal models9 already exist. ApoE−/− (apolipoprotein E knocked out) mouse is a traditional mouse model used in atherosclerosis studies. The ability to clear plasma lipoproteins in ApoE−/− mice is severely impaired. The high-fat diet feeding would cause severe atherosclerosis, resembling the diet dependency of atherosclerotic heart disease observed in humans7. Ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) is a classic method to induce the ischemic event8,10. Tracheal infusion has been used in many research and stands out from exposure models11,12 because of its better simulation and lower cost.
However, animal models of single disease have significant limitations in scientific research. The myocardial ischemia induced merely by LAD ligation is not simulated in the actual situation. In the natural state, myocardial ischemia is usually caused by plaque rupture and blocked coronary arteries13. Patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy usually have atherosclerotic basic lesions13. There are also abnormal lipid metabolism and inflammatory reactions in the body14. Therefore, ischemia caused by physical factors or under natural conditions has different pathological manifestations.Existing studies have shown that the infarction and inflammation in myocardial ischemia models with atherosclerosis are more severe15,16. PM exposure can aggravate atherosclerosis and myocardial ischemia further by inducing inflammation and oxidative stress1. Three factors usually coexist in the natural state, so the actual situation could be better simulated by using a compound model.
This protocol describes developing an animal model of myocardial ischemia (MI) combining atherosclerosis (AS) and PM acute exposure. ApoE−/− mice were fed with a high-fat diet to induce atherosclerosis. Pulmonary exposure of PM was imitated by dripping PM suspension through the trachea. Ligation of the LAD in mice was used to induce myocardial ischemia. These methods were combined and optimized to simulate the disease state better and improve the survival rate of animals. No large exposure unit or gas anesthesia machine is needed, making the experiment easy to perform. This model can be used to study the impact of PM exposure in air pollution on atherosclerosis and ischemic cardiomyopathy and conduct research on new drugs developed to treat diseases with such complex factors.
The establishment of a composite animal model is slightly different from the single MI model. Maintaining a high survival rate is challenging in the development of the composite model. The severity of atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− mice will become more severe with the extension of high-fat feeding time7, and the weakness of mice leads to increased mortality. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the mice during the experiment continually and adjust the time for…
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This model was developed with the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81673640, 81841001, and 81803814) and the Major National Science and Technology Program of China for Innovative Drug (2017ZX09301012002 and 2017ZX09101002001-001-3).
2,2,2-Tribromoethanol | Sigma-Aldrich | T48402 | |
75% alcohol disinfectant | |||
Animal ventilator | Shanghai Alcott Biotech | ALC-V8S | |
Cotton swabs | Sterile | ||
Cotton swabs for babies | Sterile , Approximately 3 mm in diameter | ||
Culture Dish | Corning | 430597 | 150 mm x 25 mm |
Diesel Particulate Matter | National Institute of Standards Technology | 1650b | |
Dissection board | About 25 x 17 cm. The dissecting board can be replaced with a wooden board of the same size | ||
High-fat diet for mice | Prescription: egg yolk powder 10%, lard 10%, sterol 1%, maintenance feed 79% | ||
Iodophor disinfectant | |||
LED spotlight | 5 V, 3 W,with hoses and clamps | ||
Medical silk yarn ball | Shanghai Medical Suture Needle Factory Co., Ltd. | – | 0-0 |
Medical tape | 3M | 1527C-0 | |
Micro Vascular Hemostatic Forceps | Shanghai Medical Instruments (Group) Ltd., Corp. Surgical Instruments Factory | W40350 | |
Needle Holders | Shanghai Medical Instruments (Group) Ltd., Corp. Surgical Instruments Factory | JC32010 | |
Normal saline | |||
Ophthalmic Scissors | Shanghai Medical Instruments (Group) Ltd., Corp. Surgical Instruments Factory | Y00040 | |
Ophthalmic tweezer, 10cm, curved, with hooks | Shanghai Medical Instruments (Group) Ltd., Corp. Surgical Instruments Factory | JD1080 | |
Ophthalmic tweezer, 10cm, curved, with teeth | Shanghai Medical Instruments (Group) Ltd., Corp. Surgical Instruments Factory | JD1060 | |
Pipet Tips | Axygen | T-200-Y-R-S | 0-200 μL |
Pipette | eppendorf | 3121000074 | 100 uL |
Safety pin | Approximately 4.5 cm in length , for making chest opening tools | ||
Small Animal I.V. Cannulas | Baayen healthcare suzhou | BAAN-322025 | I.V CATHETER 22FG x 25 MM |
Suture needle with thread | Shanghai Medical Suture Needle Factory Co., Ltd. | – | 6-0,Nylon line |
Suture needle with thread | JinHuan Medical | F503 | 5-0 |
Syringe | 1 mL | ||
Tert-amyl alcohol | |||
Zoom-stereo microscope | Mshot | MZ62 |