Establishment and evaluation of a rat model simulating the mechanism of heart failure in maintenance hemodialysis

Wang Yanbin; Chen Xu; Deng Ning; Wang Xilan; Liang Ruining; Zhang Xingping

doi:10.3760/j.issn.1673-4777.2026.07.008

Abstract：Objective To establish and evaluate a rat model simulating the mechanism of heart failure in maintenance hemodialysis(MHD).Methods A total of 26 SD rats were selected and divided into two groups by random number table method:6 rats in the control group were given edible oil by gavage;20 rats in the model group were treated with adenine edible oil solution by gavage to simulate uremic factors,intraperitoneal injection of doxorubicin to simulate heart failure and uremic factors,and potassium bromate solution instead of drinking water to simulate microinflammatory factors.The observation period lasted 6 weeks.General conditions including mental state,response,body weight and food intake,renal function,C-reactive protein(CRP),blood pressure and heart rate were observed.Echocardiographic parameters included left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),fractional shortening,interventricular septal end-systolic thickness(IVSS),left ventricular posterior wall end-systolic thickness(LVPWS),left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD),left ventricular end-systolic diameter(LVESD),left ventricular end-diastolic volume(LVEDV)and left ventricular end-systolic volume(LVESV).Heart mass indexes included whole heart mass index(HM/BM)and left ventricular mass index(LVM/BM).Myocardial pathology was observed by transmission electron microscope.Results Ten rats in the model group survived at the end of the sixth week,with a mortality rate of 50％.The body weight of the model group was significantly lower than that of the control group starting from the end of the first week(all P＜0.001)and decreased slightly and slowly since the third week.Food intake was significantly lower than that of the control group from the second week onward(all P＜0.001).Serum urea nitrogen and creatinine in the model group were signifi-cantly higher than those in the control group starting from the first week and increased obviously at subsequent time points(all P＜0.001).At the end of the sixth week,CRP level in the model group was significantly higher than that in the control group[(17.27±1.88)mg/L vs(0.99±0.09)mg/L](P＜0.01).Meanwhile,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,mean arterial pressure and heart rate in the model group were markedly lower than those in the control group;LVEF,fractional shortening,IVSS and LVPWS were significantly decreased;LVEDD,LVESD,LVEDV,LVESV,HM/BM and LVM/BM were significantly increased(all P＜0.001).Severe myocardial pathological damage was observed under electron microscope in the model group.Conclusions The established rat model simulating MHD-related heart failure meets the evaluation criteria of uremic toxin,heart failure and microinflammation modeling.It can truly and completely simulate the clinical and pathological progres-sion of MHD complicated with heart failure with good clinical similarity,and is suitable for in-depth experimental research of the disease.