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Recent Advances in Cardiovascular Diseases Research Using Animal Models and PET Radioisotope Tracers. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 24:ijms24010353. [PMID: 36613797 PMCID: PMC9820417 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24010353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is a collective term describing a range of conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels. Due to the varied nature of the disorders, distinguishing between their causes and monitoring their progress is crucial for finding an effective treatment. Molecular imaging enables non-invasive visualisation and quantification of biological pathways, even at the molecular and subcellular levels, what is essential for understanding the causes and development of CVD. Positron emission tomography imaging is so far recognized as the best method for in vivo studies of the CVD related phenomena. The imaging is based on the use of radioisotope-labelled markers, which have been successfully used in both pre-clinical research and clinical studies. Current research on CVD with the use of such radioconjugates constantly increases our knowledge and understanding of the causes, and brings us closer to effective monitoring and treatment. This review outlines recent advances in the use of the so-far available radioisotope markers in the research on cardiovascular diseases in rodent models, points out the problems and provides a perspective for future applications of PET imaging in CVD studies.
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Guerraty MA, Johnson LC, Blankemeyer E, Rader DJ, Moore SC, Metzler SD. Development and feasibility of quantitative dynamic cardiac imaging for mice using μSPECT. J Nucl Cardiol 2021; 28:2647-2656. [PMID: 32133601 PMCID: PMC7483735 DOI: 10.1007/s12350-020-02082-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite growing interest in coronary microvascular disease (CMVD), there is a dearth of mechanistic understanding. Mouse models offer opportunities to understand molecular processes in CMVD. We have sought to develop quantitative mouse imaging to assess coronary microvascular function. METHODS We used 99mTc-sestamibi to measure myocardial blood flow in mice with MILabs U-SPECT+ system. We determined recovery and crosstalk coefficients, the influx rate constant from blood to myocardium (K1), and, using microsphere perfusion, constraints on the extraction fraction curve. We used 99mTc and stannous pyrophosphate for red blood cell imaging to measure intramyocardial blood volume (IMBV) as an alternate measure of microvascular function. RESULTS The recovery coefficients for myocardial tissue (RT) and left ventricular arterial blood (RA) were 0.81 ± 0.16 and 1.07 ± 0.12, respectively. The assumption RT = 1 - FBV (fraction blood volume) does not hold in mice. Using a complete mixing matrix to fit a one-compartment model, we measured K1 of 0.57 ± 0.08 min-1. Constraints on the extraction fraction curve for 99mTc-sestamibi in mice for best-fit Renkin-Crone parameters were α = 0.99 and β = 0.39. Additionally, we found that wild-type mice increase their IMBV by 22.9 ± 3.3% under hyperemic conditions. CONCLUSIONS We have developed a framework for measuring K1 and change in IMBV in mice, demonstrating non-invasive µSPECT-based quantitative imaging of mouse microvascular function.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Guerraty
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 11-145 South Perelman Tower, 3400 Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - L C Johnson
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - E Blankemeyer
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - D J Rader
- Division of Human Genetics and Translational Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - S C Moore
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - S D Metzler
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW To examine the use of positron emission tomography (PET) for imaging post-infarct myocardial inflammation and repair. RECENT FINDINGS Dysregulated immune responses after myocardial infarction are associated with adverse cardiac remodelling and an increased likelihood of ischaemic heart failure. PET imaging utilising novel tracers can be applied to visualise different components of the post-infarction inflammatory and repair processes. This approach could offer unique pathophysiological insights that could prove useful for the identification and risk-stratification of individuals who would ultimately benefit most from emerging immune-modulating therapies. PET imaging could also bridge the clinical translational gap as a surrogate measure of drug efficacy in early-stage clinical trials in patients with myocardial infarction. The use of hybrid PET/MR imaging, in particular, offers the additional advantage of simultaneous in vivo molecular imaging and detailed assessment of myocardial function, viability and tissue characterisation. Further research is needed to realise the true clinical translational value of PET imaging after myocardial infarction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrej Ćorović
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Meritxell Nus
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ziad Mallat
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - James H. F. Rudd
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jason M. Tarkin
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Fischer M, Zacherl MJ, Weckbach L, Paintmayer L, Weinberger T, Stark K, Massberg S, Bartenstein P, Lehner S, Schulz C, Todica A. Cardiac 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography: An Accurate Tool to Monitor In vivo Metabolic and Functional Alterations in Murine Myocardial Infarction. Front Cardiovasc Med 2021; 8:656742. [PMID: 34113662 PMCID: PMC8185215 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.656742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiac monitoring after murine myocardial infarction, using serial non-invasive cardiac 18F-FDG positron emissions tomography (PET) represents a suitable and accurate tool for in vivo studies. Cardiac PET imaging enables tracking metabolic alterations, heart function parameters and provides correlations of the infarct size to histology. ECG-gated 18F-FDG PET scans using a dedicated small-animal PET scanner were performed in mice at baseline, 3, 14, and 30 days after myocardial infarct (MI) by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery. The percentage of the injected dose per gram (%ID/g) in the heart, left ventricular metabolic volume (LVMV), myocardial defect, and left ventricular function parameters: end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), and the ejection fraction (EF%) were estimated. PET assessment of the defect positively correlates with post-infarct histology at 3 and 30 days. Infarcted murine hearts show an immediate decrease in LVMV and an increase in %ID/g early after infarction, diminishing in the remodeling process. This study of serial cardiac PET scans provides insight for murine myocardial infarction models by novel infarct surrogate parameters. It depicts that serial PET imaging is a valid, accurate, and multimodal non-invasive assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Fischer
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Mathias J Zacherl
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ludwig Weckbach
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Lisa Paintmayer
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tobias Weinberger
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Konstantin Stark
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Steffen Massberg
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Peter Bartenstein
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sebastian Lehner
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany.,Ambulatory Healthcare Center Dr. Neumaier & Colleagues, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiation Therapy, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Christian Schulz
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Andrei Todica
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
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Saraste A, Ståhle M, Roivainen A. Evaluation of cardiac function by nuclear imaging in preclinical studies. J Nucl Cardiol 2020; 27:1328-1330. [PMID: 31292849 DOI: 10.1007/s12350-019-01784-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antti Saraste
- Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20520, Turku, Finland.
- Heart Center, Turku University Hospital, Hämeentie 11, 20520, Turku, Finland.
| | - Mia Ståhle
- Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Anne Roivainen
- Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Turku Center for Disease Modeling, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
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MacAskill MG, Newby DE, Tavares AAS. Frontiers in positron emission tomography imaging of the vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. Cardiovasc Res 2020; 115:1952-1962. [PMID: 31233100 DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvz162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques leading to an atherothrombotic event is the primary driver of myocardial infarction and stroke. The ability to detect non-invasively the presence and evolution of vulnerable plaques could have a huge impact on the future identification and management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with an appropriate radiotracer has the potential to achieve this goal. This review will discuss the biological hallmarks of plaque vulnerability before going on to evaluate and to present PET imaging approaches which target these processes. The focus of this review will be on techniques beyond [18F]FDG imaging, some of which are clinically advanced, and others which are on the horizon. As inflammation is the primary driving force behind atherosclerotic plaque development, we will predominantly focus on approaches which either directly, or indirectly, target this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark G MacAskill
- University/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Edinburgh Imaging, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - David E Newby
- University/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Adriana A S Tavares
- University/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Edinburgh Imaging, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Johnson LC, Guerraty MA, Moore SC, Metzler SD. Quantification of myocardial uptake rate constants in dynamic small-animal SPECT using a cardiac phantom. Phys Med Biol 2019; 64:065018. [PMID: 30721887 PMCID: PMC6512311 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ab0472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Myocardial blood flow and myocardial blood flow reserve (MBFR) measurements are often used clinically to quantify coronary microvascular function. Developing imaging-based methods to measure MBFR for research in mice would be advantageous for evaluating new treatment methods for coronary microvascular disease (CMVD), yet this is more challenging in mice than in humans. This work investigates microSPECT's quantitative capabilities of cardiac imaging by utilizing a multi-part cardiac phantom and applying a known kinetic model to synthesize kinetic data from static data, allowing for assessment of kinetic modeling accuracy. The phantom was designed with four main components: two left-ventricular (LV) myocardial sections and two LV blood-pool sections, sized for end-systole (ES) and end-diastole (ED). Each section of the phantom was imaged separately while acquiring list-mode data. These static, separate-compartment data were manipulated into synthetic dynamic data using a kinetic model representing the myocardium and blood-pool activity concentrations over time and then combined into a set of dynamic image frames and reconstructed. Regions of interest were drawn on the resulting images, and kinetic parameters were estimated. This process was performed for three tracer uptake values (K 1), three myocardial wall thicknesses, ten filter parameters, and 20 iterations for 25 noise ensembles. The degree of filtering and iteration number were optimized to minimize the root mean-squared error (RMSE) of K 1 values, with the largest number of iterations and minimal filtering yielding the lowest error. Using the optimized parameters, K 1 was determined with reasonable error (~3% RMSE) over all wall thicknesses and K 1 input values. This work demonstrates that accurate and precise measurements of K 1 are possible for the U-SPECT+ system used in this study, for several different uptake rates and LV dimensions. Additionally, it allows for future investigation utilizing other imaging systems, including PET studies with any radiotracer, as well as with additional phantom parts containing lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay C Johnson
- Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America. Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed
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Yoshinaga K, Manabe O, Tamaki N. Absolute quantification of myocardial blood flow. J Nucl Cardiol 2018; 25:635-651. [PMID: 27444500 DOI: 10.1007/s12350-016-0591-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Revised: 07/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
With the increasing availability of positron emission tomography (PET) myocardial perfusion imaging, the absolute quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF) has become popular in clinical settings. Quantitative MBF provides an important additional diagnostic or prognostic information over conventional visual assessment. The success of MBF quantification using PET/computed tomography (CT) has increased the demand for this quantitative diagnostic approach to be more accessible. In this regard, MBF quantification approaches have been developed using several other diagnostic imaging modalities including single-photon emission computed tomography, CT, and cardiac magnetic resonance. This review will address the clinical aspects of PET MBF quantification and the new approaches to MBF quantification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keiichiro Yoshinaga
- Diagnostic and Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-Ku, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Osamu Manabe
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Nagara Tamaki
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
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