Morphological and functional evaluation of murine heterotopic cardiac grafts using ultrasound biomicroscopy.
This study investigated the use of an ultrasound biomicroscope (UBM) to observe murine heterotopic cardiac transplants. By using an UBM (30 MHz), cardiac isografts in eight mice were studied on days 1, 5, 14 and 50 posttransplantation. The same method was tested in allografts in two mice on days 1, 5, 7 and 9. Two-dimensional imaging delineated the graft structures with high spatial resolution. In isografts, M-mode recording showed gradually decreased left ventricular (LV) wall thickness and chamber dimension, but increased LV fractional shortening. Doppler sampling measured blood velocities from the ascending aorta, left coronary artery (LCA), aortic and mitral orifices of grafts. In isografts, LCA forward flow caused by native circulation to perfuse the graft myocardium increased from day 1 to 5, then moderately decreased by day 14 and stabilized thereafter. In allografts, LCA forward flow sharply decreased to almost zero between day 5-9. Therefore, UBM is a reliable method for following the survival status of cardiac grafts in mice.
Zhou
Yu-Qing
YQ
Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada. yqzhou@phenogenomics.ca
Bishay
Rami
R
Feintuch
Akiva
A
Tao
Kesheng
K
Golding
Fraser
F
Zhu
Wei
W
West
Lori J
LJ
Henkelman
R Mark
RM
D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D003326:Coronary Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D033401:Microscopy, Acoustic / Q000379:methods*; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D023421:Models, Animal; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D016042:Transplantation, Heterotopic