Murine Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (mVA-ECMO): A Novel Tool to Study the Molecular Biology of Mechanical Circulatory Support
1Surgery, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
2Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
3Cardiothoracic Surgery, Yale New-Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT.
Meeting: 2015 American Transplant Congress
Abstract number: B264
Keywords: Bioengineering, Heart assist devices, Heart/lung transplantation, Mechnical assistance
Session Information
Session Name: Poster Session B: Translational Genetics and Proteomics in Transplantation
Session Type: Poster Session
Date: Sunday, May 3, 2015
Session Time: 5:30pm-6:30pm
Presentation Time: 5:30pm-6:30pm
Location: Exhibit Hall E
PURPOSE: In recent years, clinical use of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) has grown. Extracorporeal circulation is an essential component of heart and lung transplantation, and ECMO is frequently a bridge to transplantation. Our scientific knowledge of the inflammatory response related to VA-ECMO is limited to older, large animal studies of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We sought to create a new, small animal model to permit better understanding of mechanisms underlying adverse cellular and molecular inflammatory events related to VA-ECMO. Therefore, we sought to 1) design a novel miniaturized ECMO circuit, and 2) for the first time, establish the feasibility of VA-ECMO in mice.
METHODS: We first designed a miniaturized ECMO circuit composed of a software driven, peristaltic, dual-channel roller pump coupled to a thin film oxygenator. ECMO circuit function was confirmed by circulating heparinized blood through the mini-VA ECMO circuit, with arterial blood gas (ABG) analyses. Next, we established a cannulation strategy for mVA-ECMO in anesthetized mice. Via a midline laparotomy, adult mice were cannulated for VA-ECMO using the infrarenal aorta (Ao) and inferior vena cava (IVC). Primed 1.6 mm ID silicone tubing was used for arterial inflow and for venous outflow from the mVA-ECMO circuit to the mouse.
RESULTS: Benchtop testing of our mVA-ECMO circuit confirmed effective oxygenation (oxygen saturation increased from 54% to 93%) and clearance of CO2 to normal levels (pCO2=40 mm Hg) in heparinized blood. Bloodless cannulation of the infrarenal IVC and Ao were feasible using a tapered 0.016" OD venous catheter and 25 gauge arterial cannula (needle), respectively under 10x magnification with a surgical microscope. Flow rates ranging from 5-15 mL/min were generated.
CONCLUSIONS: mVA-ECMO, using a novel miniaturized ECMO circuit and microsurgical cannulation technique, is feasible in the mouse. This new murine model of ECMO will not only facilitate new studies of the inflammatory response during extracorporeal circulation, but also permit utilization of the vast array of genetically modified mice not widely available in larger species.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Schenk A, Fallon J, Farrell M, Halter R, Yun J. Murine Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (mVA-ECMO): A Novel Tool to Study the Molecular Biology of Mechanical Circulatory Support [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2015; 15 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/murine-veno-arterial-extracorporeal-membrane-oxygenation-mva-ecmo-a-novel-tool-to-study-the-molecular-biology-of-mechanical-circulatory-support/. Accessed May 31, 2025.« Back to 2015 American Transplant Congress