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Spontaneous Dystrophic Cardiac Calcinosis in C.B‐17 SCID Mice
Author(s) -
Raghunathan Suchi,
Reynolds Corey L.,
Stewart M. David,
Schwartz Robert J.,
McConnell Bradley K
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.1070.18
Subject(s) - ventricle , calcification , calcinosis , medicine , necrosis , fibrosis , histology , pathology , cardiac function curve , biology , heart failure
Animal models have a pivotal role in biomedical research and contribute significantly to the study of human disease. C.B‐17 SCID mice which are homozygous for prkdscid mutation and have BALB/c background, have been used to support research in cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and many other areas. In the current study, we report severe cardiac calcinosis in C.B‐17 SCID male mice at 10 weeks of age, particularly the right ventricular myocardium. Dystrophic cardiac calcinosis is a characteristic of certain inbred strains of mice of which BALB/c background mice exhibit more susceptibility. It is characterized by myocardial injury, calcification and necrosis of the tissue. Here, we analyzed the ECG and echocardiogram of C.B‐17 SCID mice from two different colonies; Germantown, NY colony and Cambridge City, IN colony of Taconic Biosciences. Histological analysis was used to characterize the calcinotic lesions and fibrosis. At 10 weeks of age, 61% of the total C.B‐17 SCID mice from both colonies exhibited significant ventricular calcinosis, predominantly on the right ventricle. The frequency of calcinosis was more than 50% in the Cambridge City mouse colony and 25% in the Germantown mouse colony. The ECG recordings of unanesthetized mice did not exhibit any significant differences between calcinotic and non‐calcinotic mice from either colony. Cardiac function wall dimensions, derived from cardiac echocardiograms, also did not exhibit any significant difference between calcinotic and non‐calcinotic mice from either colonies. However, histology showed necrosis and calcium deposits within the myocardium. In conclusion, C.B‐17 SCID mice exhibit severe dystrophic cardiac calcinosis as early as 10 weeks of age. These strain of mice should be cautiously considered for other disease model studies where calcium homeostasis has a significant role to play. Support or Funding Information University of Houston