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Veterinary Sciences
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Next-Gen Cardiac Care: Integrating AI-Driven Diagnostics, Biomarker Discovery, and Regenerative...
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Next-Gen Cardiac Care: Integrating AI-Driven Diagnostics, Biomarker Discovery, and Regenerative Strategies for Small Animal Cardiology

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Internal Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (22 January 2026) | Viewed by 2166

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Michela Pugliese

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Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Sciences, Polo Universitario Annunziata, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Interests: small animals internal medicine; veterinary cardiology; biomarker of disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Annamaria Passantino

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Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
Interests: veterinary internal medicine; ethics and law; animal welfare
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in dogs, and the options for reversal of heart muscle damage are limited.

Over the past 20 years, research in veterinary cardiology has been enhanced by novel approaches, including animal genetics, the discovery of new biomarkers and the experimental application of stem cell therapies.

Animal genetics research has advanced the field of veterinary cardiology, mainly by elucidating the exact genetic and molecular pathological mechanisms underlying common acquired cardiomyopathies in companion animals.  To this end, cardiomyopathies, novel therapeutic approaches aimed at targeting specific genes and/or proximal downstream pathways mediating disease are being investigated. Knowledge of the genetic basis of these cardiomyopathies in cats and dogs could improve the advancement and use of novel drugs to reduce disease morbidity and premature mortality. Stem cell therapy has shown great potential for cardiac repair. This is due to their immunomodulatory, antifibrotic and regenerative properties.

It is our pleasure to invite researchers to contribute to this special issue on Next-Gen Cardiac Care: Integrating AI-Driven Diagnostics, Biomarker Discovery, and Regenerative Strategies for Small Animal Cardiology in Veterinary Sciences. We welcome the submission of original research and review articles.

Dr. Michela Pugliese
Dr. Annamaria Passantino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal genetics
  • cardiac biomarkers
  • stem cell therapy in cardiology

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 582 KB  
Article
Clinical Value of Serum Cardiac Troponin I, Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO), and Galectin-3 in Canine Myxomatous Mitral Valve Degeneration: A Preliminary Study
by Alessandra Gavazza, Andrea Maggiori, Lucia Biagini, Alessandro Fruganti, Oriol Domenech, Dalida Arletti, Maria Chiara Muollo, Chiara Masci and Giacomo Rossi
Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(4), 335; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13040335 - 30 Mar 2026
Viewed by 639
Abstract
Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is a common cardiac disorder in older small- to medium-sized dogs. Diagnosis and staging are primarily based on echocardiography; however, circulating cardiac biomarkers have gained increasing interest because they are rapid and easily measurable. In this context, the [...] Read more.
Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is a common cardiac disorder in older small- to medium-sized dogs. Diagnosis and staging are primarily based on echocardiography; however, circulating cardiac biomarkers have gained increasing interest because they are rapid and easily measurable. In this context, the investigators’ aim was to study the clinical value of galectin-3 (Gal-3) and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), in dogs affected by MMVD, in comparison to cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a well-established biomarker of myocardial injury, and echocardiography. Twenty-two dogs were classified as healthy controls or affected by MMVD and staged according to American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) guidelines. Serum concentrations of Gal-3, TMAO, and cTnI were measured and compared among groups. No significant differences in serum Gal-3 concentration were detected among groups (p = 0.955). In contrast, TMAO levels were significantly higher in both asymptomatic and symptomatic dogs compared with healthy controls (both p < 0.001). Serum cTnI showed limited sensitivity, with increased values observed only in some symptomatic dogs. Despite study limitations, including small sample size and demographic differences among groups, these preliminary findings suggest that TMAO could be a potential biomarker associated with MMVD development and progression; however, further studies are needed to confirm this association. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Gen Cardiac Care: Integrating AI-Driven Diagnostics, Biomarker Discovery, and Regenerative Strategies for Small Animal Cardiology)
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14 pages, 287 KB  
Article
Evaluation of the Cardiovascular and Serotonergic Modulatory Effects of Ondansetron in Healthy Dogs Under Anesthesia
by Giovanna Lucrezia Costa, Nicola Maria Iannelli, Fabio Bruno, Stefania Turco, Annamaria Passantino, Caroline Munhoz, Patrizia Licata and Michela Pugliese
Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(2), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13020119 - 27 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1013
Abstract
Maintaining cardiovascular stability during anesthesia is essential, yet the routine use of atropine to prevent vagally induced low heart rate may impose additional stress on the heart. This randomized, controlled, observer-blinded, clinical study aimed to evaluate whether ondansetron, a selective 5-HT3 receptor [...] Read more.
Maintaining cardiovascular stability during anesthesia is essential, yet the routine use of atropine to prevent vagally induced low heart rate may impose additional stress on the heart. This randomized, controlled, observer-blinded, clinical study aimed to evaluate whether ondansetron, a selective 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, could serve as an alternative anesthetic adjuvant to modulate autonomic activity while maintaining cardiovascular stability in dogs. A total of 66 female dogs, with a mean age of 1.5 years and a mean weight of 16–18 kg ASA I, undergoing elective surgery were assigned to three study groups to receive atropine, ondansetron, or no autonomic-modulating drug. Heart rate, arterial pressure, respiratory rate, and NT-proBNP were recorded before, during, and after anesthesia. Dogs treated with ondansetron maintained stable cardiovascular values throughout the procedure, with no episodes of low heart rate or excessive increases in heart rate. In contrast, atropine induced marked and sustained elevation in heart rate and higher arterial pressures. Concentrations of the cardiac biomarker NT-proBNP increased significantly 48 h after surgery in the atropine group but remained unchanged in the ondansetron group, indicating the absence of additional myocardial stress. These findings suggest that ondansetron may help preserve autonomic balance during anesthesia while minimizing myocardial stress. Ondansetron could represent a useful component of multimodal anesthetic protocols, particularly in dogs in which excessive cardiac stimulation should be avoided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Gen Cardiac Care: Integrating AI-Driven Diagnostics, Biomarker Discovery, and Regenerative Strategies for Small Animal Cardiology)
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