victobec

• Becker, Victoria; Kavaliauskiene, Simona; Morgenroth, Daniel; Mahat, Sudip; Louch, William Edward & Johansen, Ida Beitnes [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2026). Bent out of shape: The impact of deviating heart morphology on cardiac function in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Aquaculture. ISSN 0044-8486. 622. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2026.744076. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• halvorsen, pia skovholt; Mahat, Sudip; Larsen, Simen Westegaard; Sørgaard, Tuva M.G.; Becker, Victoria & Morgenroth, Daniel [Vis alle 12 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2026). The influence of egg incubation and rearing temperature on heart morphology and function in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Aquaculture. ISSN 0044-8486. 617. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2026.743755. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• halvorsen, pia skovholt; Mahat, Sudip; Becker, Victoria; Kavaliauskiene, Simona; Sørgaard, Tuva M.G. & Morgenroth, Daniel [Vis alle 10 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2025). Functional and structural cardiac remodelling in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Aquaculture. ISSN 0044-8486. 614. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2025.743496. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Cardiac performance is key for survival and fitness, particularly during energetically demanding and stressful events such as migration in the wild and stressful handling and crowding in aquaculture. Heart morphology is well-known to be altered in farmed salmon, yet the functional consequences remain unknown. Cardiac morphology, structure and function were compared between seawater-ready wild and farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts by morphological and histological assessment, and echocardiography. In line with previous research, farmed hearts had rounder and less symmetrical ventricles with enlarged bulbi. Morphological deviations were present in a staggering 76 % of farmed smolts but were completely absent in the wild population. Echocardiography revealed reduced atrial area and E/A ratio in farmed individuals, indicating larger reliance on atrial contraction under rest. Histological analyses showed a relatively thicker compact myocardium, due to cardiomyocyte widening in farmed fish — features consistent with hypertrophic remodelling. Collectively, these findings confirm consistent structural remodelling in farmed salmon hearts and reveal functional adaptations to altered cardiac morphology. Most likely, these physiological alterations are shaped by selective breeding and rearing conditions and may influence cardiac performance under routine aquaculture conditions.

• Parvan, Reza; Becker, Victoria; Milad, Hosseinpour,; Yousef, Moradi,; Louch, William Edward & Cataliotti, Alessandro [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2025). Prognostic and predictive microRNA panels for heart failure patients with reduced or preserved ejection fraction: a meta-analysis of Kaplan–Meier-based individual patient data. BMC Medicine. 23. doi: 10.1186/s12916-025-04238-0. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Cardiac troponins and natriuretic peptides are benchmark biomarkers for heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) but have limited prognostic performance for HF patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Non-coding RNA-based biomarkers represent an innovative approach to risk-stratify patients and might address the unmet need for minimally invasive prognostic and predictive tools for HF development and HF-related outcomes. Our aim is to investigate the prognostic performance and risk stratification potential of circulating panels of microRNAs (miRNAs) in HFrEF and HFpEF. A systematic search on PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases was performed for studies reporting miRNAs as prognostic biomarkers in HF patients. A total of 22 studies pooling 5736 participants were included for quantitative analysis. KM-based individual patient data (IPD) analysis was performed in 12 studies (5064 participants). KM-based IPD analysis in HFrEF allowed the identification of a panel of four miRNAs (miR-27a-3p, miR-129-5p, miR-145-5p, and miR-590-3p) predicting the risk of all-cause death with hazard ratio (HR) 4.26 [2.68–6.76]. MiR-122-5p and miR-423-5p predicted cardiovascular death of HFrEF patients (HR 3.61 [2.67–4.87]). In HFpEF, miR-19a-3p predicted all-cause death of HFpEF patients with HR 2.23 [1.16–4.27]. Moreover, a panel of eight miRNAs (miR-17-5p, miR-20a-5p, miR-21, miR-23, miR-27, miR-106b-5p, miR-210, and miR-221) showed significant association with HF incidence (HR 2.14 [1.81–2.53]). A comprehensive meta-analysis of KM-based IPD enabled the identification of unique miRNA panels predicting the incidence and severity of HFrEF and HFpEF, supporting the clinical usefulness of miRNA profiling for tailored healthcare and risk stratification in HF patients. Nonetheless, more rigorously designed longitudinal studies are needed to validate the clinical application of miRNAs as prognostic and predictive biomarkers.

• Becker, Victoria; Kavaliauskiene, Simona; Sandblom, Erik; Zena, Lucas A.; Gräns, Albin & Louch, William Edward [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2024). Echocardiography - a non-invasive alternative for assessing cardiac morphology and function in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Aquaculture. ISSN 0044-8486. 592. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2024.741223. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Cardiac-related mortality is increasing in farmed salmon. Non-invasive tools for examining and screening for cardiac morphology and function are limited, and most common methodologies are lethal, time-consuming, and immobile. Echocardiography has previously been tested as a non-invasive, quick, and portable alternative, though its implementation is minimal. Improvements in echocardiographic techniques during the last decade have enabled more refined assessments of structure and function and hold potential for use in fish farms. Utilising a compact, transportable ultrasound system, we examined the applicability of echocardiography in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Several protocols and projections were tested, and intra- and inter-variation for both operators (image acquisition) and observers (image analysis) were assessed. In addition, the accuracy of cardiac structure/function measurements was compared with standard methods. In general, high accuracy and reproducibility of cardiac dimensions and functional parameters were found within the same and between different observers analysing the same dataset (intra- and inter-observer). Measurements between recordings of the same operator (intra-operator) and between different operators (inter-operator) were less accurate and repeatable but comparable to observations in previous human and mammalian studies. Cardiac output was slightly higher when measured with echocardiography compared to transit time flow probe. Yet, a strong correlation exists between the two methods. Furthermore, morphology measured in excised hearts ex vivo was comparable to echocardiography measurements and strongly correlated. Thus, ultrasound presents a highly feasible, non-invasive, and swift alternative to current methods for detailed cardiac assessment of salmon hearts.

• Kavaliauskiene, Simona; Becker, Victoria; Sun, Baojian; Dalum, Alf Seljenes; Vindas, Marco Antonio & Lund, Hege [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). L-plastin levels are associated with mortality during cardiomyopathy syndrome in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Aquaculture. ISSN 0044-8486. 560, s. 1–11. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2022.738546. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) is a severe infectious cardiac disease affecting Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). The disease is chief cause of sudden death in Norwegian fish farms and poses serious economical and fish welfare challenges to all salmon-producing countries. Although urgently needed, there are currently no treatments or effective preventive tools available. To achieve this, an in-depth understanding of the biological mechanisms leading to CMS is first required. Proteomic-based blood plasma analysis of inflammatory and immune response proteins recently identified L-plastin as an acute response protein in salmon. Here, we investigated whether L-plastin is associated with piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) infection and mortality during CMS. By comparing heart and blood plasma samples from surviving and deceased fish from a confirmed CMS outbreak site, we observed that L-plastin expression was elevated in cardiac tissue while circulating free L-plastin levels were reduced in deceased fish. Interestingly, a higher molecular weight band positive for L-plastin was detected in plasma from deceased fish and correlated with L-plastin expression in the heart. In addition, cardiac L-plastin levels correlated with cardiac histopathological changes, mononuclear cell infiltration and necrosis of cardiomyocytes in the heart. Our findings set the base for further investigation of L-plastin as a potential biomarker for mortality risk during PMCV infection and for understanding the course of CMS in farmed salmon.

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• Becker, Victoria (2026). Cardiac function in Atlantic salmon: Impacts of cardiac morphology and piscine myocarditis virus. Universitetet i Oslo. ISSN 9788234808050. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Norwegian Atlantic salmon aquaculture represents a large-scale industry with consistent high mortality rates. Among multiple biotic and abiotic causes, cardiac pathology is a major contributing factor. Deviating cardiac morphology, such as rounded or skewed ventricles, has gained increasing attention, while infection with piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV), causing cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS), remains a persistent source of mortality. However, limited studies have examined how these conditions affect cardiac function, partly due to a lack of rapid, non-invasive assessment methods. This thesis aimed to develop echocardiographic protocols for non-invasive evaluation of cardiac morphology and function, and to determine how these are altered by deviating morphology and PMCV infection in farmed Atlantic salmon. Echocardiography proved effective, producing functional and morphometric measurements comparable to invasive techniques. Combined with intraventricular pressure measurements, this approach demonstrated that both conditions alter systolic function, primarily through increased stroke volume and contractility. In addition, PMCV infection results in elevated intraventricular pressure and altered diastolic function. Both conditions appear to involve compensatory functional changes at rest, suggesting reduced cardiac reserve and increased susceptibility to mortality under production stressors such as crowding, delousing, and transport. Histopathological analyses revealed distinct remodelling patterns: deviating morphology was associated with focal thickening of the ventricular compact layer and atrial enlargement, whereas PMCV infection induced concentric thickening via hyperplasia. Fish that succumbed during delousing exhibited hypertrophic myocardium and more severe cardiac lesions than survivors, indicating that hyperplastic growth may represent a survival phenotype. Overall, this work advances understanding of two major cardiac conditions that are linked to mortality in farmed Atlantic salmon and may support improved disease detection (e.g., biomarker development), prevention, and treatment strategies.

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