Usefulness of cardiac hormones for evaluating valvular disease in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis)

Figures

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  Fig. 1.. Distribution of valvular disease (VD) cases. The graph shows the number of monkeys that were categorized into the VD group.

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  Fig. 2.. Echocardiograms of monkeys with mitral regurgitation (MR) and tricuspid regurgitation (TR). Severe MR in a female VD monkey. This animal was diagnosed with MR due to rapid turbulence (peak velocity: 416.9 cm/sec; pressure gradient: 69.5 mm Hg) from the mitral valve (A). Severe TR in a female VD monkey. This animal was diagnosed with TR due to rapid turbulence (peak velocity: 145.7 cm/sec; pressure gradient: 8.5 mm Hg) from the tricuspid valve (B). The samples used for the histopathological examination in Fig. 6 were from the same individuals shown in the echocardiograms. Both of these monkeys were among the 202 cynomolgus monkeys examined in this study.

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  Fig. 3.. Comparison of the atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) (A) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) (B) levels in healthy and valvular disease (VD) monkeys. The ANP and BNP values differ significantly between the healthy and VD monkeys (*P<0.05).

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  Fig. 4.. The relationship between age and the levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). There was no correlation between age and the cardiac hormone levels (P>0.05, data not shown). The detection limit of BNP is 4.0 pg/ml, and individuals with extremely low BNP levels are shown as having a BNP level of 0.01 pg/ml.

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  Fig. 5.. The relationship between weight and the levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). There was no correlation between weight and the levels of ANP and BNP (P>0.05, data not shown). The detection limit of BNP is 4.0 pg/ml, and individuals with extremely low BNP levels are shown as having a BNP level of 0.01 pg/ml.

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  Fig. 6.. Histopathological examination of valvular disease (VD) monkeys. A gross specimen showing an enlarged left ventricle (arrowheads) from a monkey with severe MR (A). A sagittal section showing fibrosis in the left ventricle (B). Masson’s trichrome staining showing fibrosis in the left ventricular free wall (arrowheads) (C). Masson’s trichrome staining showing mitral valve fibrosis (arrowheads) (D). The samples used for the histopathological examination were from the same individuals that were shown to have MR in the echocardiograms in Fig. 2.