CARDIOVASCULAR CORE

Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Cardiovascular and renal complications, including atherosclerosis and lipid abnormalities, diabetic cardiomyopathy, stroke and renal disease, comprise the major morbidity and mortality in diabetes. The complications of diabetes mellitus in mice appear to be largely the same as in humans. The purpose of the Cardiovascular Pathophysiology and Complications Core (CPCC) is to provide rapid, comprehensive, and accurate screening for cardiovascular disease and complications of diabetes in mouse models. The mouse phenotyping tests used by this Core are modeled after and directly translatable to tests used to assess patients with diabetes. Core services include assessment of a) cardiac morphology and function, including morphology, histology and echocardiography;b) vascular regulation, including resting measurement of blood pressure and response to vasomotor perturbations;c) exercise capacity and metabolic function;d) comprehensive renal function;e) microvascular function;and f) circulating markers of cardiovascular disease including electrolytes, indices of renal function, glycated hemoglobin, and serum lipids. The range of phenotyping tests performed by the CPCC allows for thorough investigation of the presence, correlation with, and modification or amelioration of cardiovascular disease, as well as diabetic complications associated with specific genetic manipulations in the mouse.