Micro-electrocardiograms to study post-ventricular amputation of zebrafish heart.

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an emerging model for cardiovascular research. The zebrafish heart regenerates after 20% ventricular amputation. However, assessment of the physiological responses during heart regeneration has been hampered by the small size of the heart and the necessity of conducting experiments in an aqueous environment.

Mechanical response of a calcified plaque model to fluid shear force.

Vascular calcification is associated with atherosclerosis, but whether it mechanically affects plaque stability remains controversial. To assess the effect of mineralization on plaque vulnerability to mechanical shear stress, we applied fluid shear to cultures of calcifying vascular cells (CVC), a subpopulation of smooth muscle cells that spontaneously mineralize. CVC cultures containing nodules were treated for 10 days with vehicle control or beta-glycerophosphate (BGP) to accelerate mineralization.