Rodent Models of Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure for Translational Investigations and Therapeutic Discovery

Even with modern therapy, patients with heart failure only have a 50% five-year survival rate. To improve the development of new therapeutic strategies, preclinical models of disease are needed to properly emulate the human condition. Determining the most appropriate model represents the first key step for reliable and translatable experimental research. Rodent models of heart failure provide a strategic compromise between human in vivo similarity and the ability to perform a larger number of experiments and explore many therapeutic candidates. We herein review the currently available rodent models of heart failure, summarizing their physiopathological basis, the timeline of the development of ventricular failure, and their specific clinical features. In order to facilitate the future planning of investigations in the field of heart failure, a detailed overview of the advantages and possible drawbacks of each model is provided.