Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Modeling and Evaluation of Murine Diabetic Cardiomyopathy Model
Published on: November 29, 2024
Evaluation of H-FABP as a marker of ongoing myocardial damage using hGH transgenic mice
Hitoshi Naraoka1, Kyoko Ito, Michie Suzuki
1Laboratory of Applied Genetics, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Insights
Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) shows promise as a sensitive biomarker for detecting early cardiac damage in mouse models. This finding aids in evaluating myocardial disorders in experimental animals.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Biomarker Discovery
- Animal Models
Background:
- Limited availability of heart-specific, sensitive biomarkers for experimental animal cardiac disorders.
- Need for reliable methods to evaluate ongoing myocardial damage in preclinical studies.
- Investigating heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) as a potential cardiac biomarker.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the utility of H-FABP as a biomarker for predicting myocardial disorders.
- To evaluate H-FABP in a transgenic mouse model with induced heart disease.
- To compare H-FABP levels with traditional cardiac enzymes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized CAG/EGFP-WAP/hGH transgenic male mice with induced heart disease.
- Collected blood samples at multiple time points (8, 12, 16, 36 weeks).
- Measured serum levels of AST, CK, LDH, and H-FABP; performed histopathological analysis of hearts.
Main Results:
- Significant increases in AST, CK, and LDH observed in transgenic mice by 36 weeks.
- Early histological changes (cardiomyocyte degeneration) noted at 12 weeks.
- H-FABP levels increased significantly at 12 weeks, preceding changes in other enzymes.
Conclusions:
- H-FABP serves as a valuable biomarker for predicting ongoing cardiomyocyte damage.
- H-FABP demonstrates higher sensitivity for early cardiac damage detection in this mouse model.
- Supports the use of H-FABP in preclinical research for cardiac injury assessment.
Background:
There are few heart-specific and highly sensitive biomarkers of cardiac disorders in experimental animals. To evaluate ongoing myocardial damage in experimental mice, available and reliable biomarkers are needed. We investigated whether or not heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) is useful as a biomarker for predicting ongoing myocardial disorders, by using CAG/EGFP-WAP/hGH transgenic male mice with heart disease induced by overexpression of human growth hormone (hGH).
Methods:
Blood samples were collected from transgenic and control male mice at 8, 12, 16, and 36 weeks of age and were measured for aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and H-FABP. The hearts of the transgenic mice were examined histopathologicaly and the results were compared with those of control mice.
Results:
At 36 weeks of age, significant increases in AST, CK, and LDH values were observed in the transgenic mice compared to the control mice. Minute histological changes along with focal and slight degeneration of cardiomyocytes were observed in the transgenic hearts at 12 weeks of age, but the only chemical value to change was that of H-FABP, which increased significantly.
Conclusions:
H-FABP is available as a biomarker for predicting ongoing cardiomyocyte damage in the mouse model.
