title: New technique for measurement of left ventricular pressure in conscious mice.
abstract: Concern about the effects of anesthesia on physiological measurements led us to develop methodology to assess left ventricular (LV) pressure in conscious mice. Polyethylene-50 tubing filled with heparinized saline was implanted in the LV cavity through its apex via an abdominal approach and exteriorized to the back of the animal. This surgery was done under anesthesia with either an intraperitoneal injection of ketamine (80 mg/kg) and xylazine (5 mg/kg) (K+X) in 11 mice or isoflurane (ISF; 1.5 vol%) by inhalation in 14 mice. Postoperatively, mice were trained daily to lie quietly head first in a plastic cone. LV pressure, the first derivative of LV pressure (dP/dt), and heart rate (HR) in the conscious state were compared between the two groups at 3 days and 1 wk after recovery from surgery using a 1.4-Fr Millar catheter inserted into the LV through the tubing, with the mice lying quietly in the plastic cone. Acutely during anesthesia, K+X decreased HR (from 698 to 298 beats/min), LV systolic pressure (from 107 to 65 mmHg), and maximal dP/dt (dP/dt(max)) (from 15,724 to 4,445 mmHg/s), all P < 0.01. Similar but less marked negative chronotropic and inotropic effects were seen with ISF. HR and dP/dt(max) were decreased significantly in K+X mice 3 days after surgery compared with those anesthetized with ISF (655 vs. 711 beats/min, P < 0.05; 14,448 vs. 18,048 mmHg/s, P < 0.001) but increased to the same level as in ISF mice 1 wk after surgery. In ISF mice, recovery of function occurred rapidly and there were no differences in LV variables between 3 days and 1 wk. LV pressure and dP/dt can be measured in conscious mice with a micromanometer catheter inserted through tubing implanted permanently in the LV apex. Anesthesia with either K+X or, to a lesser extent, ISF, depressed LV function acutely. This depression of function persisted for 3 days after surgery with K+X (but not ISF) and did not recover completely until 1 wk postanesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Div., Dept. of Medicine, Univ. of California-San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave., Box 0124, San Francisco, CA 94143-0124, USA.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishizaka
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Sievers
authors.forename: Bo-Qing
authors.initials: BQ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Manoj C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joho
authors.forename: Elyse
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Paul C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Grossman
mesh_terms: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D000769:Anesthesia, Inhalation / Q000379:methods*; D000778:Anesthetics, Dissociative / Q000494:pharmacology; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta; D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D003243:Consciousness; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D007530:Isoflurane / Q000494:pharmacology; D007649:Ketamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D023421:Models, Animal; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D017725:Ventricular Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014991:Xylazine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D000778:Anesthetics, Dissociative; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D014991:Xylazine; D007649:Ketamine; D007530:Isoflurane