Effects of plasma from HF patients on LV function in healthy mice.

<p>Plasma from HF patients (0.2 mL) was injected into healthy mice, follwed by echocardiographic assessment of LV function at 4 hours. Plasma from patients with ADHF induced a 22% reduction in LV fractional shortening (LVFS) in the mouse that was preventable by pretreating the mice with anakinra 100 mg/kg given 30 minutes prior to plasma injection. Plasma from patients with ADHF and HF high CRP reduced contractile reserve in the mouse as measured by LVFS response to isoproterenol. Pre-treating the mice with anakinra 100 mg/kg given 30 minutes prior to plasma injection prevented the reduction in contractile reserve. *P<0.001 versus CTRL, †P<0.05 versus ADHF, ‡P<0.05 versus HF high CRP.