Affiliations: [a] Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| [b] Walter-Brendel-Centre of Experimental Medicine, University Hospital of Munich, Munich, Germany
| [c] Department of Anatomy II, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| [d] Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milano, Italy
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Dr. med. Florian Brettner, Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital of Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. Tel.: +49 89 4400 73410; Fax: +49 89 4400 78886; E-mail: Florian.Brettner@med.uni-muenchen.de.
Note: [1] The present work was supported by a DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)-grant awarded to Daniel Chappell (no. CH 1019/2-1).
Abstract: BACKGROUND:The endothelial glycocalyx plays a decisive role in maintaining vascular homeostasis. Previous animal models have mainly focused on in-vitro experiments or the isolated beating guinea pig heart. To further evaluate underlying mechanisms of up- and down regulation, knock-out animals seem to be a promising option. OBJECTIVE:Aim of the present study was to evaluate if an isolated mouse-heart model is suitable for glycocalyx research. METHODS:Isolated beating mouse hearts (C57/Bl6J) underwent warm, no-flow ischemia and successive reperfusion. Coronary effluent was analyzed by ELISA and Western blot for the glycocalyx core protein: syndecan-1. Hearts were prepared for either immunofluorescence or electron microscopy and lysed for Western blot analysis. RESULTS:An endothelial glycocalyx covering the total capillary circumference and syndecan-1 were detected by electron and immunofluorescence microscopy. Ischemia/reperfusion seriously deteriorated both findings. Confoundingly, syndecan-1 was not detectable either in the coronary effluent or in the lysates of blood-free hearts by ELISA or Western blot technique. CONCLUSIONS:Blood vessels of mouse hearts contain an endothelial glycocalyx comparable to that of other animals also with respect to its core protein syndecan-1. But, for studies including quantification of intravascular soluble glycocalyx constituents, the amount of syndecan-1 in mouse hearts seems to be too low.
