Technical advances in studying cardiac electrophysiology – Role of rabbit models

C. Kang, J. A. Brennan, S. Kuzmiak-Glancy, K. E. Garrott, M. W. Kay, I. R. Efimov*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cardiovascular research has made a major contribution to an unprecedented 10 year increase in life expectancy during the last 50 years: most of this increase due to a decline in mortality from heart disease and stroke. The majority of the basic cardiovascular science discoveries, which have led to this impressive extension of human life, came from investigations conducted in various small and large animal models, ranging from mouse to pig. The small animal models are currently popular because they are amenable to genetic engineering and are relatively inexpensive. The large animal models are favored at the translational stage of the investigation, as they are anatomically and physiologically more proximal to humans, and can be implanted with various devices; however, they are expensive and less amenable to genetic manipulations. With the advent of CRISPR genetic engineering technology and the advances in implantable bioelectronics, the large animal models will continue to advance. The rabbit model is particularly poised to become one of the most popular among the animal models that recapitulate human heart diseases. Here we review an array of the rabbit models of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, as well as a range of the imaging and device technologies enabling these investigations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)97-109
Number of pages13
JournalProgress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology
Volume121
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2016

Funding

This work was supported by NIH grants R01 HL115415 , R01 HL114395 , R01 HL126802 , R01 HL130212 , R01 HL095828 .

Keywords

  • Action potential
  • Conduction velocity
  • Optical mapping
  • Wavelength

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Biophysics

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