Assessment of Cardiac Function in Mice Chronically Exposed to Volatile Organic Compounds

Atmospheric air pollutants, including Volatile Organic Compounds such as acrolein and polyvinyl chloride (VOC), have been linked to increased cardiovascular and metabolic dysfunction. This is of particular interest in Wyoming, where industrial mining may increase exposure to VOC. This project is part of a recently begun two-year collaboration with Dr. Jun Ren (UW Pharmacy School), to examine the relationship between VOC exposure and cardio-metabolic syndrome. We hypothesize that chronic (6-12 week) exposure to aerosolized VOC will result in cardiac dysfunction in mice. Mice will be exposed to VOC in Dr. Ren's lab, transported to our lab, and subjected to pressure-volume loop analysis of cardiac function (PV). PV is the most comprehensive technique to measure cardiac function, including beat-by-beat determination of: cardiac output, heart rate, stroke volume, preload, afterload, and a load-independent measure of contractility. A PV transducer is inserted into the left ventricle (LV) via the carotid artery, and baseline loops are generated in real time. Inferior vena cava occlusions are performed to assess contractility over a range of end-diastolic volumes. Finally, two calibrations are necessary: 1) hypertonic saline calibration, to subtract parallel conductance (conductance due to cardiac muscle rather than ventricular volume), and 2) cuvette calibration, to convert conductance to volume. PV experiments for this project will begin in Fall 2017.