Cardiac structural and functional findings in Persian cats with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

ABSTRACT: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) has been related to left ventricular structural and functional abnormalities in human patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the cardiac structural and functional findings in Persian cats with ADPKD. Client-owned ADPKD (n=12) and non-ADPKD (n=12) Persian cats were enrolled in this study. The animals underwent echo- and electrocardiographic (ECG) examinations, and non-invasive measurements of systolic blood pressure (SBP) were obtained. Both groups were similar regarding hematological and biochemical parameters, including white blood cell count and levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, total protein and thyroxine. There were no differences related to ECG parameters between ADPKD and non-ADPKD cats. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was demonstrated in 6/12 (50%) normotensive ADPKD cats with preserved renal function. There were no differences between animal groups regarding the echocardiographic parameters, including left ventricular ejection fraction and shortening fraction; however, basal interventricular septal thickness at end-diastole near the left ventricular outflow tract and aortic artery flow velocity showed slightly elevated values in ADPKD-cats. Our study revealed that Persian cats with ADPKD do not reproduce the functional and structural cardiac phenotype reported in human patients; however, large-scale cohort studies are necessary to distinguish the possibilities of a true linkage between ventricular myocardial hypertrophy and ADPKD in this breed.