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Cardiorenal Associations in Preclinical Modeling: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Magdalena Jasińska-Stroschein1
1Department of Biopharmacy, Medical University of Lodz, ul. Muszyńskiego 1, 90-151 Lodz, Poland.
Insights
No perfect animal model currently exists for cardiorenal syndrome (CRS), a condition affecting both heart and kidneys. This review analyzed 251 studies, finding some models mimic specific CRS subtypes but highlighting the need for further research into complex cardiorenal associations.
Area of Science:
- Cardiorenal Medicine
- Translational Research
- Animal Modeling
Background:
- Growing interest in the heart-kidney disease relationship has led to the term cardiorenal syndrome (CRS).
- Existing animal models do not accurately replicate human CRS subtypes.
- A comprehensive review of preclinical studies is needed to assess current cardiorenal association models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and meta-analyze existing animal models of cardiorenal associations.
- To identify which models best replicate human cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) subtypes.
- To evaluate the quality and relevance of preclinical studies on cardiorenal associations.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of preclinical studies (1990-2024) on cardiorenal associations in rodents.
- Meta-analysis conducted following PRISMA guidelines.
- Quality assessment of included studies using the SYRCLE tool.
Main Results:
- 251 papers on rodent cardiorenal associations were analyzed, using hemodynamic, echocardiographic, histopathologic, and molecular parameters.
- Various invasive and non-invasive animal approaches exist for modeling cardiorenal syndrome.
- Dahl/SS and ISO-HF models most closely mimicked CRS-2; DOCA-salt and STZ models showed cardiac injury with renal failure progression.
Conclusions:
- Current animal models show promise in replicating aspects of cardiorenal syndrome (CRS).
- Specific "one-hit" models partially mimic certain CRS subtypes.
- Further investigation into the clinical relevance of "two-hit" animal models for cardiorenal associations is warranted.
Abstract:
Recent years have seen growing interest in the relationship between the heart and kidney disease, resulting in the general term cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) being coined for disorders involving both the heart and kidneys. However, no accurate animal model exists that can replicate the specific cardiorenal associations characteristic of the human CRS subtype. Preclinical studies published between 1990 and 2024 were identified from online electronic databases. These were reviewed and subjected to meta-analysis according to PRISMA, with the quality assessed using the SYRCLE tool. In total, the review and analysis included 251 papers discussing the rodent presentation of cardiorenal associations, expressed by various hemodynamic, echocardiographic and histopathologic parameters, and selected molecular hallmarks. A wide spectrum of invasive and non-invasive animal approaches has been proposed for CRS. Numerous approaches evoked cardiorenal impairments by elevating systemic pressure. Among the "one-hit" models, Dahl/SS and ISO-HF most commonly resulted in cardiac and renal alterations mimicking CRS-2, while DOCA-salt or STZ were the most likely to elicit cardiac injury in progression of renal failure. The clinical relevance of "two-hit" animal models of cardiorenal associations merits another study.
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