title: Echocardiography improves detection of rejection after heterotopic mouse cardiac transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current assessments of cardiac rejection in murine transplant models rely on subjective estimates of the force of the palpable heart beat that have limited sensitivity and precision.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used 2-dimensional echocardiography to evaluate changes in left ventricular posterior wall thickness (PWT) in a heterotopic cardiac mouse transplant model of rejection. Nine allografts and 6 isografts were imaged daily for 6 days and harvested. Thirteen allografts were imaged daily and harvested at day 3.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intraobserver variability on PWT was 0.003 +/- 0.09 mm, interobserver variability 0.09 +/- 0.11 mm. Allograft PWT increased after transplantation (0.74 +/- 0.02 mm to 1.28 +/- 0.05 mm at day 5, P <.0001). For isografts, PWT remained constant (0.73 +/- 0.03 mm to 0.85 +/- 0.01 mm) after an initial increase at day 1. Palpation failed to identify rejection at day 3 whereas PWT was already increased (1.15 +/- 0.02 mm in the allografts at day 3 vs 0.85 +/- 0.02 mm in the isografts, P <.0001). There was a relation between histologic score and PWT (P <.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Two-dimensional echocardiography allows the noninvasive detection and follow-up of cardiac rejection after transplantation. It eliminates the subjectivity of palpation and provides quantitative and reliable indices of rejection.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 02114, USA. marielle@crosbie.com
authors.forename: Marielle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scherrer-Crosbie
authors.forename: Troels
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Glysing-Jensen
authors.forename: Stefanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Fry
authors.forename: Anne-Claire
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Vançon
authors.forename: Silpa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gadiraju
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Picard
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004452:Echocardiography; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D015588:Observer Variation; D010173:Palpation; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011300:Preoperative Care; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D016042:Transplantation, Heterotopic; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology