RATIONALE: High-sensitivity in vivo phenotyping of cardiac function is essential for evaluating genes of interest and novel therapies in small animal models of cardiovascular disease. Transthoracic echocardiography is the principal method currently used …

Background: Western diet, rich in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. We thus investigated in female mice the influence of this diet on plasma antioxidant status, vascular wall thickening and cardiac …

Chronic systemic hypertension causes cardiac pressure overload leading to increased myocardial O(2) consumption. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a master regulator of O(2) homeostasis. Mouse embryos lacking expression of the O(2)-regulated HIF-1α …

OBJECTIVE: Leptin promotes atherosclerosis and vessel wall remodeling. As abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) formation involves tissue remodeling, we hypothesized that local leptin synthesis initiates and promotes this process. METHODS AND RESULTS: Human …

Ryanodine receptor type 2 (RyR-2) mediates Ca(2+) release from sarcoplasmic reticulum and contributes to myocardial contractile function. However, the role of RyR-2 in the development of cardiac hypertrophy is not completely understood. Here, mice with or …

BACKGROUND: Cardiac hypertrophy involves growth responses to a variety of stimuli triggered by increased workload. It is an independent risk factor for heart failure and sudden death. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays a key role in cellular …

RATIONALE: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common autosomal dominant disorder with a broad array of clinical manifestations, including benign and malignant tumors, and characteristic cutaneous findings. NF1 patients also have an increased incidence of …

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, is commonly caused by essential hypertension. Three geometric patterns of LVH can be induced by hypertension: concentric remodeling, concentric hypertrophy, and …

In response to chronic hypertension, the heart compensates by hypertrophic growth, which frequently progresses to heart failure. Although intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)) has a central role in hypertrophic signaling pathways, the Ca(2+) source for …

The creatine kinase (CK) energy transport and buffering system supports cardiac function at times of high demand and is impaired in the failing heart. Mice deficient in muscle- and mitochondrial-CK (M/Mt-CK(-/-)) have previously been described, but …