Rapid, noninvasive phenotyping of the mouse right ventricle using MRI

Abstract

Genetically modified mouse models are powerful tools in cardiovascular disease research. Several techniques have been used to quantify global geometry and function of the mouse left ventricle. However, characterization of the right ventricle (RV) has been more difficult because of its non‐symmetric shape. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used to obtain in vivo data of human or large animal hearts and is particularly useful in characterizing smaller hearts. We have developed a technique for quickly generating a 3D biventricular model of a mouse heart from gated, high‐resolution MR data. Spatial data in both the short and long‐axis directions are collected to accurately reconstruct both ventricles for volume and mass measurements. Our technique was used to study RV function in cardiac specific desmoplakin knockout (DPKO) mice. DP mutations have been linked to human patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C), a disease characterized by RV dysfunction. The results show that when compared to wildtype mice, DPKO mice have larger RV end diastolic volumes (90±4 vs. 48±5 ul) and lower ejection fractions (16±3 vs. 39±4%). Funding Source: NSF