1. Glenn circulation causes early and progressive shunting in a surgical model of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations.
- Author
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Wan TC, Rousseau H, Mattern C, Tabor M, Hodges MR, Ramchandran R, and Spearman AD
- Subjects
- Animals, Rats, Male, Vena Cava, Superior abnormalities, Vena Cava, Superior surgery, Vena Cava, Superior physiopathology, Disease Models, Animal, Fontan Procedure adverse effects, Arteriovenous Malformations surgery, Arteriovenous Malformations diagnostic imaging, Arteriovenous Malformations physiopathology, Pulmonary Circulation, Heart Defects, Congenital surgery, Heart Defects, Congenital physiopathology, Heart Defects, Congenital diagnostic imaging, Arteriovenous Fistula, Pulmonary Artery surgery, Pulmonary Artery abnormalities, Pulmonary Artery physiopathology, Pulmonary Veins abnormalities, Pulmonary Veins surgery, Rats, Sprague-Dawley
- Abstract
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) universally develop in patients with single ventricle congenital heart disease. Single ventricle PAVMs have been recognized for over 50 years but remain poorly understood. To improve our understanding, we developed a surgical rat model of Glenn circulation and characterized PAVM physiology over multiple time points. We performed a left thoracotomy and end-to-end anastomosis of the left superior vena cava to the left pulmonary artery (unilateral Glenn), or sham surgical control. To assess PAVM physiology, we quantified intrapulmonary shunting using two independent methods (bubble echocardiography and fluorescent microsphere injection). Additionally, we performed arterial blood gas measurements to assess oxygenation and plethysmography to assess ventilation. We identified pathologic intrapulmonary shunting by bubble echocardiography as early as 2 weeks post-Glenn, and shunting continued at 2- and 6-months post-Glenn. Shunting also progressed over time, demonstrated by increased shunting of 10 μm microspheres at 6 months. Shunting was accompanied by mildly decreased oxygenation but no differences in ventilation. Our surgical animal model of unilateral Glenn circulation recreates the clinical condition of single ventricle PAVMs with early and progressive intrapulmonary shunting. This model is poised to characterize single ventricle PAVM pathophysiology and lead to mechanistic and therapeutic discovery., (© 2024 The Author(s). Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.)
- Published
- 2024
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