This monograph serves as a practical, `how-to' guide for the investigator interested in the functional methods used to characterize the murine cardiovascular phenotype. It is assumed that neither the cardiovascular physiologist nor the molecular biologist has a significant familiarity with each other's field; in this sense the content is truly introductory, and therefore valuable for both the scientist/physician and the trainee. A second objective is to help decipher the literature critically and foster an understanding of the advantages and limitations of each method. Molecular biology, and, more specifically, transgenesis and gene targeting, have progressed at a rapid pace; this work aims to provide a framework for the large amount of information in this proliferating, and often bewildering field. The multidisciplinary nature of the book will facilitate the newly-formed marriage between physiologists and molecular biologists and will stimulate and direct young investigators towards the field.
This monograph is organized (somewhat arbitrarily) into three sections. The first deals with transgenic and gene targeting approaches to cardiovascular physiology and pathology. The second and largest section discusses various techniques used to assess the cardiovascular phenotype, including isolated myocyte mechanics and calcium transients, the Langendorff and working isolated heart preparations, NMR spectroscopy, echocardiography, invasive hemodynamics, electrophysiology and telemetric monitoring. The final section examines methods and techniques used to study cardiovascular development, exercise and oxygen consumption in vivo, and the role of genetic manipulations in the study of the vascular system.