Preclinical Cardiovascular Studies

BioLegacy’s areas of expertise include:

Heart Failure

Vascular Remodeling

Thrombosis

Vein / Artery Graft

Vascular Permeability

Blood Flow

Cardiovascular Function Assays

Heart Failure

A definitive preclinical evaluation of a heart failure therapeutic requires a model that accurately recapitulates the specific pathophysiology of either diastolic (HFpEF) or systolic (HFrEF) dysfunction. BioLegacy provides this critical distinction, offering a comprehensive suite of well-characterized surgical and medical models to induce and study both forms of heart failure. Integrating these robust in vivo platforms with gold-standard hemodynamic and functional assessments, we deliver a clear, quantitative profile of your compound’s efficacy in improving cardiac function and reversing pathological remodeling.

  • HFpEF Model Development: Models of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction that exhibit key clinical correlates like diastolic dysfunction and cardiac hypertrophy.
  • HFrEF Models: Gold-standard myocardial infarction (MI), transverse aortic constriction (TAC), and Ischemia-Reperfusion models to induce heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.
  • Advanced Hemodynamic Assessment using pressure-volume (PV) loop catheters for definitive measures of contractility and stiffness.
  • Echocardiography & Cardiac Biomarkers: Non-invasive imaging to assess cardiac dimensions and function, correlated with key biomarkers like NT-proBNP.

Vascular Remodeling

A therapeutic’s impact on the complex cellular and structural changes of the vasculature is a critical determinant of its clinical potential in a range of cardiovascular diseases. BioLegacy provides a definitive assessment of these effects using a comprehensive suite of robust in vivo vascular remodeling models. Our expertise in recapitulating key pathologies — from neointimal hyperplasia after injury to atherosclerotic plaque development — delivers the quantitative, mechanistic data on vascular function and morphology essential for advancing your cardiovascular program.

  • Vascular Injury (Restenosis): Carotid artery ligation / injury models to assess therapeutic inhibition of neointimal hyperplasia.
  • Aneurysm: Elastase- and angiotensin II-induced models for evaluating therapies that impact aortic dilation and rupture.
  • Atherosclerosis: Diet- and genetically-induced models for quantitative assessment of atherosclerotic plaque burden.
  • Hind Limb Ischemia (PAD): Femoral artery ligation models to assess angiogenic potential and tissue perfusion recovery.
  • Heterotopic Heart Transplantation: A robust rodent model for studying transplant vasculopathy and chronic allograft rejection.

Thrombosis

A definitive preclinical evaluation of a novel anti-thrombotic agent requires robust in vivo models that accurately recapitulate the distinct pathophysiology of venous and arterial thrombus formation. BioLegacy’s thrombosis platform is engineered to provide this critical distinction, offering well-characterized models to assess your compound’s efficacy. Providing a clear, quantitative measure of thrombus inhibition and its effect on hemostasis, we deliver pivotal proof-of-concept and safety data required to de-risk your program and advance it with confidence.

  • Rabbit Wessler Model of Thrombosis: The gold-standard stasis model for definitive efficacy testing of anti-coagulants against venous thrombosis.
  • Ferric Chloride-Induced Thrombosis: A widely used model in rodents to assess the efficacy of anti-platelet agents in preventing arterial thrombosis.
  • Tail Bleeding Time & Coagulation Assays: Essential functional readouts to simultaneously evaluate a compound's anti-hemostatic activity and bleeding risk profile.

Artery / Vein Graft

Maintaining the long-term patency of vascular grafts and access sites is a critical unmet need, driven by the complex processes of neointimal hyperplasia and stenosis. At BioLegacy, our advanced microsurgical platform is specifically designed to model these pathologies, providing a definitive assessment of your therapeutic or device’s ability to promote vascular healing and prevent graft failure. By leveraging these highly translatable in vivo systems, we deliver quantitative, mechanistic data on vessel wall morphology and blood flow that is essential for advancing your cardiovascular program.

  • Femoral Artery / Vein Graft in Rat: Extensively validated microsurgical model to assess therapeutic inhibition of neointimal hyperplasia and graft stenosis.
  • Quantitative Histomorphometry & PCNA Staining: Precise analysis of the vessel wall to quantify intimal thickening and cellular proliferation.

Vascular Permeability

A compound’s effect on endothelial barrier integrity is a critical parameter for determining both its therapeutic efficacy and its potential safety liabilities. BioLegacy provides assessments of in vivo vascular permeability to quantitatively address both aspects. Understand your compound’s ability to either beneficially restore barrier function in diseases like sepsis or to unintentionally induce vascular leakage as a potential off-target toxicity. Our vascular permeability studies deliver clear, functional data needed to confirm efficacy or identify potential safety risks early in development.

  • Evans Blue Extravasation Assay: The gold-standard method for quantifying plasma protein leakage into tissues as a direct measure of vascular permeability.
  • FITC-Dextran Permeability Assay: Utilizes fluorescently-labeled dextran of varying molecular weights to assess size-selective changes in endothelial barrier function.
  • Miles Assay (Cutaneous Vascular Permeability): A rapid, localized assay to screen for agents that inhibit or induce vascular leakage in the dermal microvasculature.

Blood Flow

A therapeutic’s ability to restore or modulate tissue perfusion is a critical efficacy endpoint for a range of ischemic and angiogenic disease indications. BioLegacy’s quantitative assessments of regional blood flow use validated technologies, from laser Doppler imaging to colored microsphere analysis, for precise characterization of your compound or device’s impact on vascular function and tissue perfusion. We deliver the data required to demonstrate hemodynamic effect.

  • Laser Doppler Perfusion Imaging: Non-invasive, longitudinal assessment of superficial blood flow.
  • Colored & Fluorescent Microspheres: The gold-standard method for quantitative, organ-specific blood flow distribution.
  • Surgical & Device-Related Flow: For evaluating blood flow through vascular grafts and around implants.
  • Cutaneous & Dermal Perfusion: Specialized models for assessing blood flow in dermatological applications.

Cardiovascular Function Assays

Understanding a therapeutic’s effect on cardiac performance requires a multi-modal assessment that spans from systemic hemodynamics down to intrinsic myocardial and vascular function. BioLegacy provides this definitive characterization by integrating gold-standard in vivo and ex vivo cardiovascular function assays. Our expertise in combining data from conscious, ambulatory telemetry with terminal pressure-volume loop analysis and isolated heart preparations delivers a complete, unambiguous profile of your therapeutic’s impact on cardiac contractility, vascular tone, and electrophysiology.

  • Telemetry: Continuous, 24/7 monitoring of ECG, blood pressure, and activity in conscious animals.
  • Flow Meter: Precise, real-time measurement of blood flow in specific arteries or vascular grafts.
  • Echocardiography: Non-invasive imaging to assess cardiac morphology, systolic and diastolic function.
  • PV Loop: Real-time analysis of cardiac pressure-volume dynamics.
  • Langendorff: An isolated heart preparation to assess intrinsic cardiac contractility and electrophysiology.
  • Working Heart: An ex vivo model preserving physiological workload to study cardiac metabolism and efficiency.
  • Vascular Myograph: Direct ex vivo assessment of a compound's effect on vascular smooth muscle contraction and tone.
Don’t see a model you need? Our portfolio of validated models expands all the time. Ask us - we might have it!
Get to the heart of your research program's needs. Work with BioLegacy.
  • Advanced bioanalytical capabilities
  • GLP or non-GLP studies
  • Hundreds of models available
  • Many species, from mice to NHPs
  • Rapid study initiation - usually in under 2 weeks
Contact us today and advance your pipeline!