Characterization of a Mouse Model of Hypereosinophilia-Associated Heart Disease.

Characterization of a Mouse Model of Hypereosinophilia-Associated Heart Disease. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2019 Jun 14;: Authors: Prows DR, Klingler A, Gibbons WJ, Homan SM, Zimmermann N Abstract Hypereosinophilic syndrome is characterized by sustained and marked eosinophilia leading to tissue damage and organ dysfunction. Morbidity and mortality occur primarily due to cardiac and thromboembolic complications. Understanding the cause and mechanism of disease would aid in the development of targeted therapies with greater efficacy and fewer side effects. We discovered a spontaneous mouse mutant in our colony with a hypereosinophilic phenotype. Mice develop peripheral blood eosinophilia, infiltration of lungs, spleen and heart by eosinophils, and extensive myocardial damage and remodeling. This ultimately leads to heart failure and premature death. Histopathologic assessment of the hearts revealed a robust inflammatory infiltrate composed primarily of eosinophils and B-lymphocytes, associated with myocardial damage and replacement fibrosis, consistent with eosinophilic myocarditis (EM). In many cases, hearts showed dilatation and thinning of the right ventricular wall, suggestive of an inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy. Most mice showed atrial thrombi, which often filled the chamber. Protein expression analysis revealed overexpression of chemokines and cytokines involved in innate and adaptive immunity including IL-4, eotaxin ...
Source: American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology - Category: Physiology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol Source Type: research