Animal models of arrhythmia: classic electrophysiology to genetically modified large animals

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Translational Medicine
• Animal Models

Background:

• Cardiac arrhythmias are prevalent, causing significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
• The complex pathophysiology of arrhythmias is not fully understood, limiting therapeutic options to symptomatic treatments.
• Investigating the interplay of cardiac cell types in vivo is crucial but challenging for arrhythmia research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of animal models and species used in arrhythmia research.
• To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various animal models for studying arrhythmias.
• To offer guidance for researchers on selecting appropriate in vivo models for their studies.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on animal models for arrhythmia research.
• Analysis of species-specific utility for different research hypotheses (genetic, mechanistic, translational).
• Evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of commonly used animal models.

Main Results:

• Mice are suitable for genetic investigations and early drug target identification.
• Rabbits are valuable for studying ion channel function and re-entrant arrhythmias.
• Pigs are recommended for preclinical translational studies to validate findings.

Conclusions:

• A practical trio of mice, rabbits, and pigs is proposed for advancing arrhythmia research.
• Each species offers unique advantages for specific research questions in cardiac electrophysiology.
• Selecting the appropriate animal model is critical for successful in vivo arrhythmia studies.