Pressure overload by suprarenal aortic constriction in mice leads to left ventricular hypertrophy without c-Kit expression in cardiomyocytes

Animal models of pressure overload are valuable for understanding hypertensive heart disease. We characterised a surgical model of pressure overload-induced hypertrophy in C57BL/6J mice produced by suprarenal aortic constriction (SAC). Compared to sham controls, at one week post-SAC systolic blood pressure was significantly elevated and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy was evident by a 50% increase in the LV weight-to-tibia length ratio due to cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. As a result, LV end-diastolic wall thickness-to-chamber radius (h/R) ratio increased, consistent with the development of concentric hypertrophy. LV wall thickening was not sufficient to normalise LV wall stress, which also increased, resulting in LV systolic dysfunction with reductions in ejection fraction and fractional shortening, but no evidence of heart failure. Pathological LV remodelling was evident by the re-expression of fetal genes and coronary artery perivascular fibrosis, with ischaemia indicated by enhanced cardiomyocyte Hif1a expression. The expression of stem cell factor receptor, c-Kit, was low basally in cardiomyocytes and did not change following the development of robust hypertrophy, suggesting there is no role for cardiomyocyte c-Kit signalling in pathological LV remodelling following pressure overload.