Intracardiac thrombus in murine coxsackievirus B3 myocarditis

Summary We studied the appearance of intracardiac mural thrombi with time and the relationship between thrombosis and congestive heart failure (CHF) in murine coxsackievirus B3 (CB3) myocarditis. Fourto six-week-old C₃H/He mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with CB3 and were observed for 90 days. Mice were sacrificed periodically on days 4, 8, 14, 30, and 90. Among 129 mice with myocarditis, 35 (27.1%) developed CHF and 40 (31.0%) demonstrated thrombi after day 8. The total incidence of thrombosis was significantly higher in mice with CHF (71.4%; 25/35) than in those without CHF (16.0%; 15/94) (P < 0.001). The present study suggests that CB3 myocarditis carries a significant risk of thromboembolism, and that CHF is a risk factor for the appearance of thrombi.This work was supported by research grants of the Japanese Heart Foundation, Education Fellowship of Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Iwaki Fellowship, Japanese Education of Science and Welfare (Nos. 01570478 and 03670445), and the Uehara Memorial Foundation