Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 3, 2026
Establishment and Validation of a Rat Model of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Associated with Pulmonary Fibrosis
Published on: May 23, 2025
Establishment and comparison of two reliable hyperkinetic pulmonary hypertension models in rabbits
Chuanzhen Liu1, Zhibo Yan2, Changcun Fang1
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
Objectives:
We sought to explore and create a reliable, convenient, and economic hyperkinetic pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) model and confirm the exact time of establishing a reversible or irreversible model to serve as a platform for future studies.
Methods:
We used a common carotid artery and jugular vein shunt with an anastomosis and cuff to create a hyperkinetic PAH model in rabbits. At 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively, the systolic pressure, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, and mean arterial pressure were measured by catheterization and the right ventricle hypertrophy index was calculated. Pathologic changes in the small pulmonary arteries were observed with hematoxylin and eosin staining, and the Heath-Edwards classification system was used to evaluate PAH.
Results:
The anastomosis and cuff graft groups both increased in systolic pressure, mean pulmonary arterial pressure (P<.05), and right ventricle hypertrophy index (P<.05). However, the anastomosis method resulted in a lower mortality rate, greater patency, and overall success rate compared with the cuff graft method (P<.05). Furthermore, from the observed pathologic changes and the Heath-Edwards classification system, a reversible and an irreversible PAH model was established at 3 and 6 months postoperatively, respectively.
Conclusions:
The common carotid artery and jugular vein anastomosis method is a stable hyperkinetic PAH model in rabbits. Reversible and irreversible PAH models were established at 3 and 6 months postoperatively, respectively.
