School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University of Nottingham, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, UK.
Twycross Zoo, East Midland Zoological Society, Atherstone, CV93PX, UK.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 10;10(1):9417. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-66345-7.
Cardiovascular diseases, especially idiopathic myocardial fibrosis, is one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality in captive great apes. This study compared the structure and morphology of 16 hearts from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) which were either healthy or affected by myocardial fibrosis using X-ray microtomography. In four hearts, a single, hyperdense structure was detected within the right fibrous trigone of the cardiac skeleton. High resolution scans and histopathology revealed trabecular bones in two cases, hyaline cartilage in another case and a focus of mineralised fibro-cartilaginous metaplasia with endochondral ossification in the last case. Four other animals presented with multiple foci of ectopic calcification within the walls of the great vessels. All hearts affected by marked myocardial fibrosis presented with bone or cartilage formation, and increased collagen levels in tissues adjacent to the bone/cartilage, while unaffected hearts did not present with os cordis or cartilago cordis. The presence of an os cordis has been described in some ruminants, camelids, and otters, but never in great apes. This novel research indicates that an os cordis and cartilago cordis is present in some chimpanzees, particularly those affected by myocardial fibrosis, and could influence the risk of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death.
心血管疾病，尤其是特发性心肌纤维化，是圈养大型猿类发病率和死亡率的主要原因之一。本研究使用 X 射线微断层扫描比较了 16 只健康或患有心肌纤维化的黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes）心脏的结构和形态。在 4 只心脏中，在心脏骨架的右纤维三角内检测到单个高密度结构。高分辨率扫描和组织病理学显示在 2 例中存在小梁骨，在另 1 例中存在透明软骨，在最后 1 例中存在矿化纤维软骨化生伴软骨内骨化的焦点。另外 4 只动物的大血管壁内出现多处异位钙化灶。所有受明显心肌纤维化影响的心脏均出现骨或软骨形成，以及与骨/软骨相邻组织中胶原水平升高，而未受影响的心脏则没有出现心骨或心软骨。心骨和心软骨已在一些反刍动物、骆驼和水獭中被描述，但从未在大型猿类中被描述过。这项新的研究表明，心骨和心软骨存在于一些黑猩猩中，特别是那些受心肌纤维化影响的黑猩猩，这可能会影响心律失常和猝死的风险。
