Animal Models for Heart Transplantation Focusing on the Pathological Conditions

Horng-Ta Tseng; Yi-Wen Lin; Chun-Yao Huang; Chun-Ming Shih; Yi-Ting Tsai; Chen-Wei Liu; Chien-Sung Tsai; Feng-Yen Lin

doi:10.3390/biomedicines11051414

Animal Models for Heart Transplantation Focusing on the Pathological Conditions

Biomedicines. 2023 May 10;11(5):1414. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11051414.

Authors

Horng-Ta Tseng^{1

2

3}, Yi-Wen Lin⁴, Chun-Yao Huang^{1

2

3}, Chun-Ming Shih^{1

2

3}, Yi-Ting Tsai⁵, Chen-Wei Liu⁶, Chien-Sung Tsai^{1

5

7}, Feng-Yen Lin^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Taipei Heart Institute, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
² Division of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
³ Departments of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
⁴ Institute of Oral Biology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (Yangming Campus), Taipei 112304, Taiwan.
⁵ Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Basic Medical Science, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ 85721, USA.
⁷ Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan.

Abstract

Cardiac transplant recipients face many complications due to transplant rejection. Scientists must conduct animal experiments to study disease onset mechanisms and develop countermeasures. Therefore, many animal models have been developed for research topics including immunopathology of graft rejection, immunosuppressive therapies, anastomotic techniques, and graft preservation techniques. Small experimental animals include rodents, rabbits, and guinea pigs. They have a high metabolic rate, high reproductive rate, small size for easy handling, and low cost. Additionally, they have genetically modified strains for pathological mechanisms research; however, there is a lacuna, as these research results rarely translate directly to clinical applications. Large animals, including canines, pigs, and non-human primates, have anatomical structures and physiological states that are similar to those of humans; therefore, they are often used to validate the results obtained from small animal studies and directly speculate on the feasibility of applying these results in clinical practice. Before 2023, PubMed Central^® at the United States National Institute of Health's National Library of Medicine was used for literature searches on the animal models for heart transplantation focusing on the pathological conditions. Unpublished reports and abstracts from conferences were excluded from this review article. We discussed the applications of small- and large-animal models in heart transplantation-related studies. This review article aimed to provide researchers with a complete understanding of animal models for heart transplantation by focusing on the pathological conditions created by each model.

Keywords: animal models; heart transplantation.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Taipei Medical University (111-1800-002-400), Tri-Service General Hospital (TSGH-C05-111039), the Medical Affairs Bureau, Ministry of National Defense (MND-MAB-D-112175), and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 110-2320-B-038-032-MY3) in Taiwan.