Chart scope software

At the end of the study, ventricular performance was assessed by pressure–volume (PV) loop analysis with a 1.4F conductance catheter (Millar Instruments, Inc., Houston, TX) before the animals were sacrificed in 8 mice (telmisartan group, n = 4; control group, n = 4) [19 (link)]. The right carotid artery was cannulated with the Millar catheter that was advanced through the aortic valve into the left ventricle. The PV relations were measured at baseline and during inferior vena caval occlusion. When coupled with pressure, the generation of ventricular PV relationships allowed precise hemodynamic characterization of ventricular systolic and diastolic function and loading conditions. These data were analyzed with PVAN 3.4 Software and Chart/Scope software (ADInstruments, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO).

ERG was recorded using a gold-loop corneal electrode with a light-emitting diode (Mayo Corp., Inazawa, Japan). A reference electrode was placed in the mouth, and a ground electrode was placed in the anus (in mice) or attached to the ear (in rabbits). Stimuli were produced with a light-emitting diode stimulator (Mayo Corp.). The ERG response signals were amplified (PowerLab 2/25; AD instruments, New South Wales, Australia). In photopic ERG on mice, stimulus intensity was 10.0 and 30.0 cds/m² and a background illumination of 30 cd/m²35 (link). Thirty to 50 responses were averaged to obtain the final photopic ERG waveform. For scotopic ERG, rabbits were dark-adapted for more than 60 min. Stimulus intensity was 0.01 (rod response), 3.0 (mixed cone and rod response) and 30.0 cds/m²35 (link). In order to investigate whether KUS121 affected the ERG signal, 3-month-old wild-type mice were assessed by ERG before and after daily oral administration of KUS121(ad libitum access to water containing 384.5 mg/L of KUS121 for 7 days). In the RP animal models, ERGs were recorded at 10 months (9 months after the start of treatmnet) and 19 months (6 months after the start of treatment) in rd12 mice and at 12 weeks (9 weeks after the start of treatment) in RP rabbits. The a- and b-wave amplitudes were analyzed using Chart & Scope software (AD instruments, New South Wales, Australia).

A gold-loop corneal electrode with a light-emitting diode (Mayo Corp.) was used to record electroretinography. A reference electrode was placed in the mouth, and a ground electrode was placed in the anus. A light-emitting diode stimulator (Mayo Corp.) was used to produce stimuli. Scotopic electroretinography was recorded after overnight dark adaptation with stimulus intensity of 0.01 (rod response), 3 (mixed cone and rod response), and 30 cds/m² (McCulloch et al., 2015 ). Photopic electroretinography was recorded with stimulus intensity of 3, 10, and 30 cds/m² and a background illumination of 30 cd/m² (McCulloch et al., 2015 ). The electroretinography response was amplified (PowerLab 2/25; AD instruments), and up to 4 responses were averaged in scotopic electroretinography, and 30 to 50 responses were averaged in photopic electroretinography, to obtain the final electroretinography waveform. The stimulus interval was set at ≥15 seconds for scotopic 0.01 electroretinography, ≥60 seconds for scotopic 3 and 30 electroretinographies, and at 1.0 second for photopic electroretinographies. Chart & Scope software (AD instruments) was used to analyze the amplitudes of the a-wave, which has been reported to reflect rod function (Hood and Birch, 1990b (link)) and the b-wave, which has been reported to derived from bipolar cells (Hood and Birch, 1996 (link)).