Abdul Ghafar Sherzad, Dingli Xu, M Azim Azimee, Imran Zafarzai, Arash Nemat, Osama Alsarhan and Qingchun Zeng
Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is a slow, progressive disorder that encompasses from “early sclerosis, characterized by leaflet thickening without left ventricular outflow obstruction, to late stenosis with stiffen leaflets, flow is obstructed, and compromised cardiac function”. CAVD was historically accepted as passive “senile” or “degenerative” process affecting a normal trileaflet or congenital bicuspid valve. But recent scientific discoveries have also shown that it is an active and highly cellmediated pathobiological process that shares many risk factors with atherosclerosis. Much evidence states that calcific aortic valve disease is not a predictable consequence of aging and may be associated with specific risk factors. However, no drug regimes currently exist to prevent or halt the progression of CAVD in a clinically significant way and the only effective therapy is a surgical valve replacement. Therefore, there is an unmet scientific need to determine pathobiological mechanisms of CAVD and to identify new approaches to treat CAVD. Animal models are emerging as vital tools to this end, facilitated by the advent of new models and improved understanding of the utility of existing models. In this review paper, we will describe the most widely used small and large animal models that have been used to study CAVD.
