Establishment of mouse models for severe pulmonary hypertension through ‘double‐hit’ strategies

Abstract

Abstract Mouse models are crucial for understanding pulmonary hypertension (PH) mechanisms and developing therapies, but existing mouse models under hypoxia only exhibit mild PH. To address this, we established a double‐hit model combining unilateral pneumonectomy (LPx) or left pulmonary artery ligation (LPAL) with hypoxia exposure in C57BL/6 mice. Our detailed haemodynamic and histological evaluations post‐surgery demonstrated pronounced elevations in right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) (LPAL: 41.1 ± 4.63 mmHg, P = 0.005; LPx: 38.4 ± 2.95 mmHg, P = 0.002; Sham: 32.1 ± 2.21 mmHg) and pulmonary vascular wall thickness (LPAL: 56.9 ± 3.34%, P = 0.02; LPx: 54.3 ± 4.65%, P = 0.04; Sham: 44.8 ± 3.76%) compared to hypoxia‐exposed sham‐operated controls, reflecting a more severe PH phenotype. These novel models, which exhibit haemodynamic alterations akin to the established hypoxia with SU5416‐induced PH model as per published data, could offer a substantial contribution to future PH research and therapeutic development.

Keywords

• hypoxia
• mouse model
• pneumonectomy
• pulmonary artery ligation
• pulmonary hypertension