Microvasculature of Transgenic Mouse Hearts Lacking Actin Capping Protein
Location
CSU 253/4/5
Start Date
4-4-2011 11:00 AM
End Date
4-4-2011 12:30 PM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Michael Bentley
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
Transgenic mice bred to be deficient in actin capping protein have inefficient, abnormally formed muscle groups. The hearts of these transgenic mice are a potential model for the study of heart disease in humans. Because the structure of the cardiac muscle groups in transgenic mice is fundamentally different from normal mice, the structure of the microvasculature supplying those muscle groups may also be measurably different. In order to measure this difference in structure, casts were made of the coronary microvasculature in both transgenic and wild type mice (normal/control). Each mouse was first given an intraperitoneal injection of
0.2 mL heparin to thin the blood. After 10 minutes each mouse was killed using cervical dislocation. The heart was then exposed and a catheter was placed into the apex extending 1 mm into the left ventricle. A saline-heparin mixture (0.1 mL heparin to 10 mL 0.9% saline) of 60 mL was infused at a flow rate of 0.1 mL per minute. The infusion was continued with a polyurethane casting polymer. After roughly 20 minutes infusion was stopped and the polyurethane was allowed to polymerize; forming a solid cast of the coronary microvasculature. The hearts were placed in deionized water and frozen overnight then thawed and placed in a 5% weight by volume potassium hydroxide solution to digest the tissues away from the vascular cast. Upon completion of digestion the casts were freeze dried to preserve their structure and then analyzed using scanning electron microscopy.
Microvasculature of Transgenic Mouse Hearts Lacking Actin Capping Protein
CSU 253/4/5
Transgenic mice bred to be deficient in actin capping protein have inefficient, abnormally formed muscle groups. The hearts of these transgenic mice are a potential model for the study of heart disease in humans. Because the structure of the cardiac muscle groups in transgenic mice is fundamentally different from normal mice, the structure of the microvasculature supplying those muscle groups may also be measurably different. In order to measure this difference in structure, casts were made of the coronary microvasculature in both transgenic and wild type mice (normal/control). Each mouse was first given an intraperitoneal injection of
0.2 mL heparin to thin the blood. After 10 minutes each mouse was killed using cervical dislocation. The heart was then exposed and a catheter was placed into the apex extending 1 mm into the left ventricle. A saline-heparin mixture (0.1 mL heparin to 10 mL 0.9% saline) of 60 mL was infused at a flow rate of 0.1 mL per minute. The infusion was continued with a polyurethane casting polymer. After roughly 20 minutes infusion was stopped and the polyurethane was allowed to polymerize; forming a solid cast of the coronary microvasculature. The hearts were placed in deionized water and frozen overnight then thawed and placed in a 5% weight by volume potassium hydroxide solution to digest the tissues away from the vascular cast. Upon completion of digestion the casts were freeze dried to preserve their structure and then analyzed using scanning electron microscopy.
Recommended Citation
Michaels, Leah and Kyle Sonnabend. "Microvasculature of Transgenic Mouse Hearts Lacking Actin Capping Protein." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 4, 2011.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2011/poster-session-B/4
