Phenotypic patterns in feline heart failure: a natural model for understanding variable disease severity in humans
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ABSTRACT: Cats frequently develop myocardial remodelling, for example, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, affecting 14.7 percent of domestic cats compared to 0.2 percent of humans, with shared genetic features making them relevant to human disease. Yet features distinguishing clinical outcomes such as heart failure and arterial thromboembolism remain poorly characterized. Using artificial intelligence-based digital pathology and Oxford Nanopore sequencing, we analyzed myocardial tissue from 37 cats grouped by outcome: arterial thromboembolism, congestive heart failure, or no documented cardiac disease. Myocardial fibrosis was significantly higher in cats with arterial thromboembolism, indicating a distinct fibrotic phenotype. Cats with heart failure showed nuclear hypertrophy, while cats with arterial thromboembolism had increased numbers of small, hematoxylin-dense non-myocyte nuclei. Higher fibrosis was associated with downregulation of mitochondrial and cardiac conduction genes, and nuclear size correlated with proteostasis and stress-response pathways. This multimodal framework reveals distinct histological and molecular profiles by outcome, with relevance for translational hypertrophic cardiomyopathy research.
ORGANISM(S): Felis catus
PROVIDER: GSE296746 | GEO | 2026/06/05
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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