Cold-induced fibrosis and metabolic remodeling in the turtle (Trachemys scripta) ventricle.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

Cardiac fibrosis contributes to systolic and diastolic dysfunction and can disrupt electrical pathways in the heart. There are currently no therapies that prevent or reverse fibrosis in human cardiac disease. However, animals like freshwater turtles undergo seasonal remodeling of their hearts, demonstrating the plasticity of fibrotic remodeling. In Trachemys scripta, cold temperature affects cardiac load, suppresses metabolism, and triggers a cardiac remodeling response that includes fibrosis.

Methods

We investigated this remodeling using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) imaging spectroscopy, together with functional assessment of muscle stiffness, and molecular, histological, and enzymatic analyses in control (25°C) T. scripta and after 8 weeks of cold (5°C) acclimatio

SUBMITTER: Keen AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11909586 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature