Influence of contrast agent dose and ultrasound exposure on cardiomyocyte injury induced by myocardial contrast echocardiography in rats.
OBJECTIVE
To detect specific cardiomyocyte injury induced by myocardial contrast material-enhanced echocardiography (ie, myocardial contrast echocardiography) in rats and to ascertain the influences of contrast material dose and ultrasound exposure on this injury.


METHODS
All animal procedures were approved by the university committee for the use and care of animals. Myocardial contrast echocardiography with 1:4 electrocardiographic (ECG) triggering was performed at 1.5 MHz in 61 anesthetized rats. Evans blue (EB) dye was injected as the vital stain for cardiomyocyte injury. At the start of myocardial contrast echocardiography, which lasted 10 minutes, perflutren lipid microsphere-based contrast material was infused through the tail vein for 5 minutes. Premature heartbeats were counted from the ECG record. The numbers of EB-stained cells counted on sections of heart specimens obtained 24 hours after myocardial contrast echocardiography and then either fresh frozen or embedded in paraffin were determined by using fluorescence microscopy. Results were compared statistically by using t tests and Mann-Whitney rank sum tests.


RESULTS
EB-stained cells were concentrated in the anterior region of the myocardium. In the paraffin-embedded specimens, EB-stained cells were often accompanied by but largely separate from areas of inflammatory cell infiltration. At end-systolic triggering with a 50 microL/kg dose of microsphere contrast material, the EB-stained cell count increased with increasing peak rarefactional pressure amplitude, with significantly increased cell counts at 1.6 MPa (P < .02) and 2.0 MPa (P < .005) relative to the cell counts at sham myocardial contrast echocardiography. Premature heartbeats had a similar exposure-response relationship; however, number of premature heartbeats and EB-stained cell count did not appear to be directly related (coefficient of determination r2 = 0.03). The EB-stained cell counts at end-diastolic triggering were not significantly different from those at end-systolic triggering (P > .1). EB-stained cell counts increased with increasing contrast material dose, from 10 to 50 microL/kg, at 2.0 MPa.


CONCLUSIONS
Cardiomyocyte injury was induced by the interaction of ultrasound pulses with contrast agent microbubbles during myocardial contrast echocardiography in rats, and the numbers of injured cells increased with increasing contrast agent dose and ultrasound exposure.
Miller
Douglas L
DL
Department of Radiology, University of Michigan Medical Center, 3315 Kresge III, 200 Zina Pitcher Pl, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0553, USA. douglm@umich.edu
Li
Peng
P
Dou
Chunyan
C
Gordon
David
D
Edwards
Chris A
CA
Armstrong
William F
WF
D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005070:Evans Blue; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008863:Microspheres; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D014465:Ultrasonics
D003287:Contrast Media; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D005070:Evans Blue; C042852:perflutren