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Updated: Aug 21, 2026
Biventricular Assessment of Cardiac Function and Pressure-Volume Loops by Closed-Chest Catheterization in Mice
Published on: June 15, 2020
Systolic and diastolic ventricular function assessed by pressure-volume loops in the stage 21 venous clipped chick
Sandra Stekelenburg-de Vos1, Paul Steendijk, Nicolette T C Ursem
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Cardiac pressure-volume loop analysis reveals reduced contractility in chick embryos after venous clipping. This sensitive technique detects subtle alterations in embryonic cardiac function due to altered hemodynamics.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Cardiac pressure-volume (PV) relations assess intrinsic ventricular properties, independent of loading conditions.
- Understanding hemodynamics and cardiac morphogenesis is crucial in early development.
- The chick embryo venous clip model simulates reduced cardiac load, potentially causing outflow tract anomalies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of venous clipping on embryonic chick heart ventricular function at stage 21.
- To compare pressure-volume loop analysis findings between venous-clipped and control embryos.
Main Methods:
- Utilized pressure-volume loop analysis on embryonic chick hearts at stage 21 (3.5 days incubation).
- Employed the venous clip model to induce temporary reduction in cardiac mechanical load at stage 17.
- Compared hemodynamic parameters and PV relations between clipped and control groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in steady-state hemodynamic parameters were observed between groups.
- Venous-clipped embryos exhibited significantly lower end-systolic elastance, indicating reduced contractility (p < 0.05).
- A trend towards increased diastolic stiffness was noted in clipped embryos, though not statistically significant (p = 0.103).
Conclusions:
- One day post-venous obstruction, embryonic cardiac ventricular function is demonstrably affected, specifically showing reduced contractility.
- Pressure-volume loop analysis is a sensitive method for detecting subtle changes in embryonic cardiac function.
- This technique holds promise for studying cardiac development and the effects of hemodynamic alterations in the chick embryo model.
Abstract:
Cardiac pressure-volume relations enable quantification of intrinsic ventricular diastolic and systolic properties independent of loading conditions. The use of pressure-volume loop analysis in early stages of development could contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between hemodynamics and cardiac morphogenesis. The venous clip model is an intervention model for the chick embryo in which permanent obstruction of the right lateral vitelline vein temporarily reduces the mechanical load on the embryonic myocardium and induces a spectrum of outflow tract anomalies. We used pressure-volume loop analysis of the embryonic chick heart at stage 21 (3.5 d of incubation) to investigate whether the development of ventricular function is affected by venous clipping at stage 17, compared with normal control embryos. Steady state hemodynamic parameters demonstrated no significant differences between the venous clipped and control embryos. However, analysis of pressure-volume relations showed a significantly lower end-systolic elastance in the clipped embryos (slope of the end-systolic pressure-volume relation: 5.68 +/- 0.85 versus 11.76 +/- 2.70 mm Hg/microL, p < 0.05), indicating reduced contractility. Diastolic stiffness tended to be increased in the clipped embryos (slope of end-diastolic pressure-volume relation: 2.74 +/- 0.56 versus 1.67 +/- 0.21, p = 0.103), but the difference did not reach statistical significance. The results of the pressure-volume loop analysis show that 1 d after venous obstruction, development of ventricular function is affected, with reduced contractility. Pressure-volume analysis may be applied in the chick embryo and is a sensitive technique to detect subtle alterations in ventricular function.
