Cardiac gene expression analysis in porcine model of heart failure

A gene expression topology of the developing, postnatal and diseased heart resulted in re-interpretation of ventricular remodeling in terms of rearrangement of key gene regulatory networks that are imbalanced, attenuated, or abnormally activated in the failing myocardium. The underlying principle, “Shaping the heart in development and disease” becomes a focus of current cardiovascular research with the goal of developing innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to combat cardiovascular disease. In this line, our interests focus on regulatory molecular pathways and identification of novel candidate genes associated with ventricular remodeling in normal and pathological states. The general goal of the project was to establish a piglet model of heart failure induced by the cardiotoxic agent Doxorubicin. Transcriptomic analysis on Affymetrix GeneChip Porcine Genome Array was used to used to identified the genes associated with pathological ventricular remodeling. Six 8-day old piglets were randomized in two groups, the experimental group (n=3) received a single intravenous administration of 2.0 mg/kg Doxorubicin, whereas the control group (n=3) was injected with PBS. Piglets were euthanized 3 weeks later to harvest cardiac tissue for RNA isolation. Piglets were used in accordance with protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Ethical Committee.