Abstract 14166: Cardiac Function is Protected From Ischemic Injury in African Spiny Mice

Abstract

Tissue regeneration is common in crustaceans, insects, reptiles and amphibians. African spiny mice (ASM) evolve to shed a large portion of skin to escape from predators. They have been recently reported as the first mammal to regenerate complete hair follicles, dermis, epidermis, sebaceous glands, adipose tissue, microvessels, smooth muscle, skeletal muscle of the panniculus carnosus and cartilage ( Seifert et al. Nature 2012 ). However, the extent of regenerative ability of ASM with regard to their heart has not been investigated. The objective of this project is to determine the cardiac regenerative potential of ASM relative to another murine species (CD1 mouse) in a coronary artery ligation model. CD1 and ASM were divided into four groups (see table below). Similar ischemic area was induced for group 2 and 4. Cardiac function was assessed using echocardiography and MRI. Briefly, MI led to a 51% decrease in left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF, 31.9±6.5 vs 64.5±3.7%) in CD1 mice following MI. Whereas, EF was preserved in ASM following MI (78.4±6.5 vs 61.71±1.8%). Collectively, it appears that ASM may be able to preserve and/or regenerate myocardium after ischemic injury. Our findings warrant additional studies to identify molecular pathways and genetic circuits that promote myocardial preservation/regeneration processes.