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Guidelines for Assessing Mouse Endothelial Function via Ultrasound Imaging: a Report from the International Society of Cardiovascular Translational Research

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Abstract

The study is to establish a novel method to determine the endothelial function in mouse carotid arteries in vivo by using high-resolution ultrasound images. Atherosclerosis in carotid arteries is induced in ApoE−/− mice with a Western diet. The ultrasound of the ventral neck generates clear pictures of the common carotid arteries. Acetylcholine at the range from 5 to 20 μg/kg/min (iv) is able to induce a dose-dependent relaxation as shown by the increased diameter of these normal mouse carotid arteries, which is impaired in atherosclerotic arteries. The endothelial function determined by ultrasound images in vivo matches well with that determined in isolated carotid arterial rings in vitro. All animals survived after the endothelial function measurement. In this study, we have established a standard method to determine the mouse endothelial function in vivo. It is a reliable, safe, and survival method that could be used repetitively in mouse arteries.

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Abbreviations

Ach:

Acetylcholine

FMD:

Flow-mediated vasodilation

SNP:

Sodium nitroprusside

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Conflict of Interest

None.

Human Subjects and Informed Consent Statement

No human studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

Animal Studies

The work was conducted with the approval and in accordance with the guidelines of the Rush University. All institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed and approved by the university institutional committees.

Sources of Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (HL095707, HL109656, and NR013876) to C. Zhang.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Pharmacology and Cardiovascular Research Center, Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, 1735 West Harrison St, Cohn Building, Suite 406, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

      Hua-ting Wang, Zhen Shan, Wen Li, Maoping Chu, Jian Yang, Dan Yi, Jiaxin Zhan, Zu-Yi Yuan, Sudhanshu Raikwar, Shenming Wang & Chunxiang Zhang

    2. Department of Cardiology, Jinan Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, 250013, China

      Hua-ting Wang

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    1. Hua-ting Wang
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    2. Zhen Shan
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    3. Wen Li
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    4. Maoping Chu
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    5. Jian Yang
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    6. Dan Yi
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    9. Sudhanshu Raikwar
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    10. Shenming Wang
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    11. Chunxiang Zhang
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    Correspondence to Chunxiang Zhang.

    Additional information

    Editor-in-Chief Jennifer L. Hall oversaw the review of this article

    Hua-ting Wang and Zhen Shan contributed equally to this work.

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    Wang, Ht., Shan, Z., Li, W. et al. Guidelines for Assessing Mouse Endothelial Function via Ultrasound Imaging: a Report from the International Society of Cardiovascular Translational Research. J. of Cardiovasc. Trans. Res. 8, 89–95 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-015-9614-8

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-015-9614-8

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