(Circulation. 1995;92:3549-3559.)
© 1995 American Heart Association, Inc.
Articles |
In Vivo MRI Visualization of Acute Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion in Ferrets by the Persistent Action of the Contrast Agent Gd(BME-DTTA)
Presented in part at the 11th Annual Meeting of the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Berlin, Germany, August 8-14, 1992, and at the second Annual Meeting of the Society of Magnetic Resonance, San Francisco, Calif, August 8-12, 1994.
From the Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Correspondence to Gabriel A. Elgavish, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Medicine, Room 336 Tinsley Harrison Tower, Birmingham, AL 35294-0006. E-mail bch0054@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu.
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Abstract |
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 Top Abstract IntroductionMethods Results Discussion References |
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Background Contrast agent–enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the potential to visualize myocardial ischemia. To date, however, no agent has been found that has a sustained effect that allows MRI detection for the entire duration of ischemia and reperfusion and thus is useful in conjunction with stress test MRI. In this article, we introduce the gadolinium complex of N3,N6-bis(2'-myristoyloxyethyl)-1,8-dioxo-triethylene-tetraamine-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid [Gd(BME-DTTA)], an agent potentially useful for such a purpose.
Methods and Results Four protocols were carried out.
ECG-triggered, partially T1-weighted, spin-echo MRI was used in
protocols A through C. In protocol A, in nonischemic
ferrets, 50 µmol/kg Gd(BME-DTTA) induced a 70±5% intensity
enhancement lasting 3 hours. In protocol B, the left anterior
descending coronary artery was occluded, and a
99mTc-sestamibi–induced
autoradiographic contrast verified (r=.87,
P<.01) a Gd(BME-DTTA)-induced (n=5) or Gd(DTPA)- induced
(n=4) MRI contrast. In the Gd(BME-DTTA) group a sustained contrast and
in the Gd(DTPA) group a short-lived contrast were observed. In
protocol C (n=11), during ischemia, a 31±3.3%
(P<.02) contrast was evident between the ischemic
and nonischemic myocardial regions. Upon reperfusion, a
contrast of 19±3% (P<.05) and 13±4.5%
(P<.05) persisted for 5 and 15 minutes, respectively.
Beyond 15 minutes, the contrast continued to diminish gradually.
Nonradioactive microspheres verified (r=.87,
P<.05) ischemia and reperfusion in this model. In
protocol D (n=4), blood 
R1 data showed that the blood pool
retained
Gd(BME-DTTA) for the entire time frame of the experiment at high enough
concentration to provide an appropriate wash-in effect during the
initial contrast enhancement and during reperfusion.
Conclusions This study demonstrates that Gd(BME-DTTA) induces a sustained MRI contrast between regions of normal versus ischemic myocardium, showing the potential of this agent for the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease in conjunction with stress tests.
Key Words: magnetic resonance imaging • perfusion • ischemia • contrast media • gadolinium • 99mTc-sestamibi
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Introduction |
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TopAbstractIntroductionMethods Results Discussion References |
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Coronary artery disease causes more deaths, disability, and economic loss in industrialized nations than any other group of diseases.1 Therefore, the screening and noninvasive diagnosis of ischemic heart disease is highly important. MRI is a potentially powerful tool for this purpose2 3 because of its ability to show excellent soft-tissue contrast. This is best achieved when tissue differences in relaxation times, T1 or T2, are present. Under such conditions, myocardial MRI contrasts can be obtained. Beyond 3 hours of coronary occlusion, T1 and T2 increase in the ischemic region.4 Within the first hour of occlusion, however, the inherent relaxation rate difference between well-perfused and ischemic myocardial tissue is not sufficient for generating reasonable MRI contrast for the detection of myocardial underperfusion.5 6 Thus, the use of contrast agents is necessary for assessing acute myocardial underperfusion.7 8
Several studies had shown that myocardial ischemic areas could be detected with radiolabeled fatty acids.9 10 11 On the basis of these data, the bifunctional ligand BME-DTTA was designed and synthesized in our laboratory by the addition of a covalent attachment of a chelator moiety to myristoyl, a long fatty acyl chain.12 Chu et al13 reported that at a dose of 50 µmol/kg, liposomal Gd(BME-DTTA) did not cause significant cardiovascular side effects in ferrets, as indeed was expected from our previous LD50 measurements.12 Also, when this contrast agent was administered to ferrets, a specific MRI IE was detected in the heart muscle.13
The primary purpose of the present study was to determine whether Gd(BME-DTTA) would induce a contrast between ischemic and nonischemic myocardium in the acutely ischemic ferret heart and whether this myocardial contrast would persist for the entire duration of the ischemic period as well as during early reperfusion. Verification of the extent and location of the myocardial ischemic region as detected by agent-enhanced MRI was carried out by a corresponding non-MRI imaging method, autoradiography with 99mTc-sestamibi. Correlation of contrast with MP was also carried out by use of nonradioactive microspheres. The cardiospecificity of the agent was demonstrated by myocardial tissue kinetics quite distinct from its blood-pool kinetics.
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Methods |
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TopAbstractIntroductionMethods Results Discussion References |
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Gd(BME-DTTA) was synthesized and incorporated into liposomes as described previously.12 Liposomal Gd(BME-DTTA) was dialyzed at 4°C for 24 hours against a saline solution (pH 7.4) that contained 0.9 wt% NaCl, 20 mmol/L HEPES, and 0.5 wt% Chelex-100 to remove any weakly bound gadolinium ions. In vitro NMR relaxation rate (1/T1) was measured on an IBM PC-20 (0.47 T) Multispec NMR instrument at 37°C. An in vitro longitudinal relaxivity of 27.1±0.3 s-1·mmol/L-1 was routinely found.
Thirty-three male ferrets weighing 0.9 to 1.2 kg (Marshall Farms) were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (25 mg/kg). A tracheal tube was inserted and connected to a respirator (intermediate animal ventilator, Harvard Apparatus, Inc) with a setting for 45-mL tidal volume at the rate of 25 cycles per minute. The left jugular vein was isolated, and an intravenous line was inserted to allow the administration of infusion and contrast agent. The left carotid artery was instrumented for blood pressure measurements, and an ECG was recorded. In 20 ferrets, transverse thoracotomy was performed. Coronary arteries in ferrets submerge into the myocardium immediately after originating from the aorta. Therefore, direct isolation of a coronary artery could not be carried out. A surgical suture was placed superficially through the myocardium under the most visible proximal segment of the LAD. An already inflated, manometer-controlled balloon was positioned close to the surgical suture. Following the closure of the surgical suture around the middle portion of the balloon, a livid discoloration developed at the interventricular groove and the anterior myocardial area. After the deflation of the balloon, this livid discoloration disappeared. An epicardial ECG was used to detect the presence of significant myocardial ischemia. During a 5-minute temporary occlusion, an immediate, significant ST-segment elevation developed in the epicardial ECG. The ST-segment elevation as well as the livid discoloration in the ischemic area disappeared after the release of this occlusion. This visible discoloration, associated with a >5-mV increase in ST-segment elevation, was subsequently used as an indicator of significant myocardial ischemia. The ECG leads were removed after the surgical procedure. During the MRI experiment, a Hewlett-Packard telemetric ECG system was used to trigger the MRI acquisions and to monitor surface ECG changes during the ischemic period.
A 1.5-T Philips Gyroscan MR imager with a head coil was used for ferret heart imaging. An ECG-gated, relatively T1-weighted (TR=600 ms, TE=30 ms), spin-echo pulse sequence was used in a multiple-slice, multiple-phase, dynamic study with seven dynamic intervals (10 minutes each), 256x256 image matrix, field of view of 200 mm, and slice thickness of 3 mm. During the 10 minutes of each dynamic interval, nine images with three tomographic slices in three cardiac phases (two diastolic and one systolic phase) were obtained. Three in vivo imaging protocols and one ex vivo protocol were carried out.
In protocol A, in 6 nonischemic ferrets, 50 µmol/kg Gd(BME-DTTA) was injected, and signal IE was monitored over a 3-hour interval.
In protocol B, in 9 ferrets with the acutely ischemic heart model, after the acquisition of control images the LAD was permanently ligated by a surgical snare, and either 50 µmol/kg Gd(BME-DTTA) (n=5) or 200 µmol/kg Gd(DTPA) (n=4) was injected. Three sets of MR images were collected during a 30-minute period. At 20 minutes of ischemia, 99mTc-sestamibi (99TC-Sestamibi, DuPont; 20 to 30 mCi) was injected intravenously. At 30 minutes of ischemia, the hearts were arrested and quickly removed. The right and left ventricular chambers were filled with embedding medium (Tissue-Tek O.C.T. Compound) and cooled on dry ice. The heart was then bread-sliced into 5 to 7 slices (each 3 to 4 mm thick). Care was taken to preserve close correspondence in slice thickness and position between these physical slices and the MRI tomographic slices previously acquired. The common starting point for both the physical slices and the MR image slices was the site of the ligation, which is clearly identifiable on the MR image. The physical slices were placed on a precooled, plastic surface and positioned against a Kodak MRM1 film for an exposure time of 6 hours. The developed films were scanned into a Macintosh computer, and the autoradiographic images were compared with the corresponding transverse MR images by use of NIH IMAGE 1.54 software.
In protocol C, in 11 ferrets with the acutely ischemic heart model, control images were obtained, and the prepositioned balloon was inflated to occlude the LAD. Simultaneously, 50 µmol/kg Gd(BME-DTTA) (n=9) or isotonic saline solution (n=2) was injected. In all 11 ferrets, images were subsequently acquired during 30 minutes of ischemia. Upon balloon deflation, 40 minutes of reperfusion was allowed. A 30-minute occlusion period was selected because it had been shown previously that edema did not occur until after 40 minutes of ischemia6 and the subsequent biochemical changes during 30 minutes of ischemia were reversible.8 In protocol C, in 4 ferrets of the 9 above that were injected with 50 µmol/kg Gd(BME-DTTA) and MR imaged, microspheres 15±0.1 mm in diameter and dyed with a given color (DyeTrak, Triton Technology, Inc)14 were used to measure MP at the different stages of the experiment. One million microspheres, of a different color each time, were injected during the control, ischemia, and reperfusion time periods into the left atrium through a Tygon catheter and flushed with 4 mL of saline at room temperature. Before injection, the microspheres were ultrasonicated and vortex agitated to obtain optimal dispersion. Upon termination of the MRI experiment, the LAD was reoccluded and 5 mL MB was injected into the left atrium to delineate the ischemic and nonischemic myocardial tissue areas, since MB is known to yield a sharp border at the regions in which MP falls below 50% of baseline.15 After the injection of MB, the heart was arrested with KCl and quickly removed. The heart was then bread-sliced into 5 to 7 slices (each 3 to 4 mm thick). Ischemic areas were recognized by postmortem analysis of the MB dye staining; blue tissue as nonischemic regions (2.46±0.13 g) and nonstained tissue as ischemic regions (0.43±0.1 g) were differentiated. For further analysis, a procedure described by Kowalik at al14 was followed. The latter procedure included tissue digestion by 4 mol/L KOH, 2% Tween 80 mixture at 72°C (4 hours in a water bath shaker), filtering (microspheres remain on the surface of the 8-mm pore size, polyester filter disks), and eluting of the three different dyes by dimethyl formamide. The latter suspension was centrifuged (5 minutes, 2000g), and the supernatant, which contained the dyes, was retained. The samples thus obtained were then analyzed on a Beckman DU-65 spectrophotometer. The three peaks in the spectrum (320 to 820 nm), each corresponding to one of the three dyes, were digitized and the peak areas integrated by a computer-interfaced digitizing board. The peak areas were normalized to the corresponding individual peaks in reference spectra. From these normalized areas, the microsphere content per gram tissue for each of the three dyes was calculated for each tissue sample. The MP values were normalized to the preischemic control.
To demonstrate specific agent accumulation in the
myocardium by the end of 30 minutes of LAD occlusion,
myocardial gadolinium content and tissue T1 were measured in a total of
3 ferrets given a 50 µmol/kg (n=2) or a 100 µmol/kg
(n=1) dose of
Gd(BME-DTTA) upon occlusion. Nonischemic myocardial tissue
samples (
1.0 g) were cut out on the basis of the distribution of MB.
First, R1 relaxation rates (1/T1) were determined at 1.5 T, and
subsequently the same samples were sent to Galbraith Laboratories for
direct measurement of tissue concentration of gadolinium by plasma
emission spectroscopy.
In protocol D, in 4 ferrets, whole-blood T1 was determined ex vivo. Arterial blood samples, 0.5 mL each, were taken from the carotid artery. After the drawing of a control blood sample, 50 µmol/kg Gd(BME-DTTA) was injected intravenously, and samples were drawn at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 minutes after injection. The T1 value of each blood sample was determined at 1.5 T at room temperature.
A phantom consisting of a plastic beaker filled with agarose gel was
used as an external intensity reference. In transverse myocardial
slices (short-axis, dual-chamber view), septal, anterior,
lateral, and posterior segments were selected as ROIs (Fig 1
).
All the MR and autoradiographic
images presented in this article are oriented in the manner
indicated in Fig 1. Average intensity in each ROI was measured
and
normalized to the intensity of the external reference. In protocol A,
the IE in each ROI was expressed by
|
 | (1) |
where Ipre=Iorgan/Ireference (before injection of agent), Ipost=Iorgan/Ireference (after injection of agent), and I denotes signal intensity.
After LAD occlusion, the lateral and posterior myocardial regions are not expected to be ischemic. In protocol B, the locations of the nonischemic myocardial area and of the ischemic myocardial region (ROI inside the anteroseptal myocardial region) were verified by 99mTc-sestamibi autoradiography. Thus, on the basis of this verification, in protocols B and C the average MR image signal intensities of these lateral and posterior ROIs were used as nonischemic controls, and the average MR image signal intensity of the ROI inside the anteroseptal myocardial region was followed in consecutive MR images as ischemic intensity values. The size of a given ROI was kept constant in any specific experiment in a specific myocardial region, in a specific slice and cardiac phase. The software used, NIH IMAGE, allowed maintaining the same size (same outline) and position of any given ROI within a sequential image set acquired over time. In the analysis of one set of our MR images (example: slice 1, phase 1, dynamic 1 to 7), an image stack was created in which all the MR images were zoomed exactly to the same extent. Next, multiple ROIs were drawn, the ROIs were kept in the same size and position inside all the MR images in the stack, and the average intensity in each ROI in each MR image was measured. Thus, the size and location for both nonischemic and ischemic ROIs were kept unchanged during the experiment, and myocardial contrasts were calculated and expressed by
 | (2) |
To compare the defect sizes between 99mTc-sestamibi– and Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced myocardial contrasts, we defined defect boundaries as follows: (1) The boundary of the ischemic region in the 99mTc-sestamibi image was drawn manually around an area with a signal intensity threshold of 1%. In this case, however, the endocardial and epicardial boundaries of the ischemic region are imaginary because of the nature of the method. (2) In the MR image, the boundary of the ischemic spot was drawn on the basis of a signal intensity reduction of at least 20% (real boundaries on each side of the ischemic region).
The data represented as mean±SEM. Statistical analysis was performed with Number Cruncher Statistical Systems software. General linear-models ANOVA and repeated-measures ANOVA were performed between multiple serial measurements and control measurement. The Duncan test was performed when control measurements were compared with the multiple serial measurements (protocols A through D). Duncan's multiple-range test was performed to compare multiple serial measurements (protocols B and C). In protocol B, the perfusion defect size was determined either by 99mTc-sestamibi–or by Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced myocardial contrast.The corresponding perfusion defect sizes determined by these two techniques were correlated by linear regression analysis. In protocol D, the relaxation rate in blood was analyzed as a function of time by curve fitting. Data with P<.05 were considered significant.
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Results |
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In nonischemic ferrets (protocol A; n=6), the intensity in heart muscle increased by 65±5% (P<.001) within 15 minutes after administration of Gd(BME-DTTA). In subsequent images obtained during the first hour, a 70±5% enhancement in MRI signal intensity in the myocardium was observed. The average IE remained at a plateau level for 3 hours, indicating a conveniently long lifetime of this contrast agent in the heart tissue (Fig 2
). In contradistinction, during the same
experimental time window, blood R1 enhancement, induced by the contrast
agent present in the blood compartment, decreased monotonically
(Fig 2).
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). The
intensity remained at this plateau for 3 hours. In
nonischemic ferrets (n=4, protocol D), the blood T1, and
thus 
), and despite this, the myocardial MRI signal intensity
still increased. Thus, the kinetics of the increase of contrast agent
concentration in the myocardial tissue, ie, the kinetics of the
Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced MRI signal IE, is not directly proportional to
the blood-pool concentration of the agent. This inverse
relationship indicates the myocardium-specific behavior
of the contrast agent Gd(BME-DTTA).
In LAD-ligated ferrets (protocol B),
autoradiography with
99mTc-sestamibi was used to verify the extent and
location of the ischemic region highlighted by Gd(BME-DTTA).
99mTc-sestamibi activity accumulates into the
nonischemic myocardial tissue but not into the
ischemic myocardial tissue. In Fig 3, the
99mTc-sestamibi– and the Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced
myocardial contrasts are shown in corresponding slices. The anterior
ischemic region delineated by the Gd(BME-DTTA)–enhanced MR
image is detected as early as 5 minutes after injection (Fig 3,
II),
and it corresponds in location and extent to the
99mTc-sestamibi defect (Fig 3, I). This delineation
remains in effect even after 25 minutes (Fig 3, III). As a
comparison,
in Fig 4, the 99mTc-sestamibi– and the
Gd(DTPA)-induced myocardial contrasts are shown in the
autoradiographic (Fig 4, I) and in the MR (Fig
4, II
and III) images. After administration of Gd(DTPA), the anteroseptal
ischemic region became delineated at 5 minutes and corresponded
in location and extent to the 99mTc-sestamibi defect.
Contrary to the Gd(BME-DTTA)–enhanced image, however, this contrast
quickly disappeared, as demonstrated in the late MR image (Fig
4, MR
image III).
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A quantitative depiction of the time dependence of the above myocardial
IEs and contrasts are shown in Fig 5. After LAD
occlusion and administration of Gd(BME-DTTA), a sustained myocardial IE
developed in the nonischemic region, and a nonsignificant
IE took place in the ischemic spot (Fig 5A). The time
dependence of the corresponding contrast, obtained in accordance with
Equation 2
, is shown in Fig 5C. This contrast
reached a plateau at 5
minutes, and at the end of 25 minutes of occlusion it was still at its
plateau level. With Gd(DTPA), however, the contrast was short-lived
(Fig 5C); the MR IE in the nonischemic myocardial regions
decreased rapidly and the IE in the ischemic myocardial region
increased significantly beyond 5 minutes after the administration of
this agent (Fig 5B). The ischemic defects as detected by both
Gd(BME-DTTA) and 99mTc-sestamibi were localized in the
anteroseptal myocardial wall, and the same location was
consistently identified by both the radionuclide perfusion
tracer and the MRI agent. A positive correlation (r=.87,
P<.01) was found between the defect sizes determined by
contrast agent–enhanced MRI versus
autoradiography (Fig 6).
|
). With
Gd(DTPA), however, the signal IE in the nonischemic
myocardium is short-lived (B, 
), but it rises
significantly in the Gd(DTPA) group (B,
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The effect of Gd(BME-DTTA) in a ferret model (protocol C) in which
reperfusion followed the LAD occlusion is shown in typical transverse
MR image tomographic slices (Fig 7). After the
administration of Gd(BME-DTTA) and LAD occlusion, a significant
increase in signal intensity is observed in the nonischemic
heart muscle, ie, in the lateral and posterior regions. In the
ischemic, septal region, the intensity does not increase during
ischemia (Fig 7B and 7C). Thus, during focal
ischemia
induced by LAD occlusion, a contrast develops between ischemic
(anteroseptal) and nonischemic (lateral and posterior)
myocardial tissue areas within a relatively short time, and this
contrast persists while ischemia is present. In this
particular experiment, the myocardial signal intensity is higher in the
endocardial surface compared with the epicardial region of the
ischemic spot. This observation, however, is not present
consistently in all of our animals. It is likely that because
of ischemia-induced dyskinesia, the blood movement in the
left ventricular cavity adjacent to the endocardial surface
in question is slowed. In slice-selective spin-echo MRI, this
would increase the signal intensity in the affected image region. Upon
reperfusion (Fig 7D), the image intensity in the anteroseptal
(ischemic) region begins to increase, and the contrast between
previously ischemic and nonischemic tissue areas
disappears with time.
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Fig 8 depicts the detailed time dependence of the IEs
and contrast for the entire group (n=9) in the
occlusion-plus-reperfusion model. The MRI IE in the
nonischemic, ie, posterior and lateral, regions of the
myocardial tissue increased with time (Fig 8A). The IE in the
ischemic, anteroseptal region gradually increased during both
the occlusion and the reperfusion periods (Fig 8A), although
this
increase became steep enough to achieve statistical significance only
during reperfusion. A myocardial contrast between the septal and the
lateral and posterior myocardial slices was not present during
preocclusion control (Fig 8B). During ischemia, a significant
31±3.3% (P<.05) contrast was evident between the
ischemic (anteroseptal) and nonischemic myocardial
tissue areas (Fig 8B). Upon reperfusion, the
Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced
contrast gradually decreased but did not immediately disappear. Rather,
a contrast of 19±3% (P<.05) and 13±4.5%
(P<.05) persisted for 5 and 15 minutes, respectively.
Beyond the first 15 minutes of reperfusion, the signal intensity
increased further in the ischemic myocardium (Fig 8A), and
thus, the contrast between the ischemic and normal
myocardial regions continued to diminish gradually (Fig 8B).
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)
and a significant increase in IE of the nonischemic region
(A,
In another subgroup of ferrets subjected to 30 minutes of occlusion
followed by reperfusion (protocol C, n=4), measurement of MP, along
with acquisition of MR images, was carried out during the three
different stages of the experiment (control, ischemia, and
reperfusion). MP and Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced IE data during
ischemia show a linear correlation with a correlation
coefficient of .82 (P<.01), demonstrating a close
correspondence between MP and Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced myocardial MRI
signal intensity (Fig 9). A 66±5% reduction in MP in
the ischemic region was evident during ischemia
compared with the MP of the same tissue during the control period (Fig
10B). A similar reduction in MP (63±6%) was observed
when the MP in the ischemic region was compared with the MP in
the nonischemic region. In the corresponding
Gd(BME-DTTA)–enhanced MRI data, a 47±3% lower IE occurred in the
ischemic spot compared with the IE in the
nonischemic myocardial region during ischemia (Fig 10A).
During reperfusion, the average MP rises both in the
nonischemic and previously ischemic areas
(129±21% versus 187±34% of control, respectively). In the
latter,
however, the increase in MP is significantly larger
(P<.05), possibly due to the effect of reactive
hyperemia. The increase in MP in the nonischemic
region from 95±5% to 129±21% (see Table 1) is
reflected in only a small, nonsignificant increase in MRI IE (from
59±6% to 63±6%). The increase in MP in the ischemic region
(from 34±5% to 187±34%), however, is reflected in a 40±5%
increase in MRI IE (from 12±6% to 52±6%) (Fig
10A). In this latter
case, the increase in both MP and MRI IE is highly significant
(P<.01).
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Myocardial R1 and gadolinium content, determined ex vivo (n=3) at
the
end of 30 minutes of occlusion, indicated an enhanced R1 of 1.67±0.09
and 2.89 s-1 at the low and high agent
doses, respectively, and a 1.35- or 1.9-fold myocardial accumulation of
Gd in the nonischemic region after administration of 50 or
100 µmol/kg doses of Gd(BME-DTTA), respectively, given at the onset
of occlusion (Table 2).
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To follow agent kinetics in the blood pool, T1 values of ferret
arterial blood samples were determined at a 1.5-T magnetic
field before and after administration of Gd(BME-DTTA) (protocol D,
n=4). A blood T1 value of 1.32±0.04 seconds was found during
control.
After the administration of Gd(BME-DTTA), a fast initial bolus effect
in blood is detected. This effect reaches a minimum T1 value of
0.14±0.02 seconds within less than 2 minutes, followed by a slow
increase in T1, and reaching a blood T1 of 0.25±0.05 seconds at the
end of 1 hour after administration of the contrast agent. On the basis
of the T1 values, the R1 rates were calculated, the
Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced R1, which was linearly proportional to the
blood concentration of the contrast agent, was plotted versus time, and
the data were curve fitted (Fig 11). The results
indicate a three-phase kinetic behavior. First, a fast bolus effect
brings R1 to an initial maximum within the first 2 minutes. Next, an
intermediate rate of decay is evident with a time constant of 6.8
minutes. This decay brings R1 down to about 82% of the maximum
effect within a 15-minute time period (Fig 11A). The third
phase is a
slow decay whose time constant is 197 minutes (Fig 11B). At
the
30-minute time point, 74% of the maximum effect is still observed.
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Discussion |
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TopAbstractIntroductionMethods Results Discussion References |
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The present study demonstrates that the MRI contrast agent Gd(BME-DTTA) displays a sufficiently long half-life in the bloodstream and a specific accumulation in the myocardial tissue inducing a sustained myocardial signal IE and also retains a reasonably efficient in vivo relaxivity at relatively low dosage. We have found that Gd(BME-DTTA) induces a well-defined contrast between ischemic and nonischemic myocardial tissue areas in the acutely ischemic ferret heart. We provide evidence that the myocardial contrasts induced by both 99mTc-sestamibi and Gd(BME-DTTA) show similar sizes and locations of the myocardial ischemic regions in corresponding slices. The agent-induced myocardial MRI contrast exists for the entire duration of the ischemic and early reperfusion time periods. Thus, the data indicate the potential usefulness of Gd(BME-DTTA) for the early diagnosis of ischemic heart disease.
Our experimental design deliberately consisted of 30 minutes of coronary occlusion, since the absence of myocardial edema6 and the presence of the reversibility of the biochemical changes due to the ischemic myocardial event8 defined a model of acute myocardial ischemia. The possibility that we observed an infarct rather than an ischemic spot was precluded by (1) short duration of occlusion and (2) the fact that without the agent, no contrast could be detected in the same model, since in two ferrets no myocardial MR image contrast was observed after LAD ligation and administration of isotonic saline. The presence of myocardial ischemia due to the decrease in MP was tested by epicardial ECG before MRI and also monitored during the MRI experiment. During MRI, both diastolic and systolic MR images were collected at each experimental phase, and the impact of the decrease in regional MP on regional ventricular function could be tested. The observed dyskinesia, which developed during occlusion and partially improved during reperfusion, indicated that a myocardial ischemia was associated with the decrease in MP. Thus, we use both terms, ie, underperfusion and ischemia, in this work.
The size and location of the myocardial ischemic region are
verified by a non-MRI method, autoradiography with
99mTc-sestamibi. 99mTc-sestamibi is a
single photon emitting radionuclide tracer that is taken up by viable
myocardium in proportion to the distribution of
MP.16 17 The mode of tissue uptake of Gd(BME-DTTA)
may be
similar to that of 99mTc-sestamibi,18
since both agents are lipophilic compounds. Therefore,
autoradiography with
99mTc-sestamibi is used as a comparative standard to
verify the ability of our MRI agent to detect the location and size of
underperfused myocardium by comparing the defects detected
by the two techniques. In 5 ferrets, the ischemic defects as
detected by both Gd(BME-DTTA) and 99mTc-sestamibi were
localized in the anteroseptal myocardial wall, and the same location
was consistently identified by both the radionuclide perfusion
tracer and the MRI agent. A significant correlation (r=.87,
P<.01) was found between the defect sizes determined by
contrast agent–enhanced MRI versus
autoradiography (Figs 3 and 6).
In animal models, microspheres are well known to be
useful in the measurement of MP.15 Therefore, we monitored
the MP changes during ischemia and reperfusion using color
microspheres.14 A positive correlation
(r=.82, P<.05) between MP, measured by
microspheres, and Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced MRI signal IE indicated
a correspondence between these two parameters during the
ischemic time period (Fig 11). Furthermore, the significant
increase in MP in the ischemic region during the reperfusion
time period was reflected in a significant increase in IE in MR images
(Fig 10A). Thus, the microsphere data provided direct
verification for the occurrence of both ischemia and
reperfusion. The reasons for the different values of the IE/MP
ratio in the nonischemic versus the ischemic
regions during the reperfusion period are explained in the
"Appendix."
The potential of MRI to show a contrast between normal and infarcted canine myocardium arising from the prolongation of the T1 and T2 relaxation times in the infarcted region was demonstrated early.19 20 21 22 23 This prolongation was correlated with increased water content in the infarct compared with normal myocardium.4 20 24 Significant myocardial edema, however, does not occur until at least 30 minutes after coronary occlusion,6 and thus, acute ischemia would not be visualized by MRI in the absence of contrast agent. In excised hearts, no difference in signal intensity between ischemic and normal myocardium was observed in the absence of agent in spin-echo images after 1 minute of LAD ligation in dogs.25 The lack of MRI contrast in early ischemia is also demonstrated by the in vivo sham experiment in ferrets in the present work.
Because of its low toxicity, Gd(DTPA) has been extensively
studied and used as a contrast agent for
experimental26 27
and clinical MRI28 29 of the heart and other organs.
It has been found, however, that Gd(DTPA) has a short
half-life (20 minutes) in blood and is quickly excreted through the
kidney.30 Therefore, in this work, we decided to compare
the effect of this agent with that of Gd(BME-DTTA) in the same animal
model under a similar set of experimental conditions. Gd(DTPA) enhances
the visualization of acute myocardial infarction in relatively
T1-weighted MR images.31 Contrary to its effect in an
infarct several days old, Gd(DTPA) is not able to induce a sustained
myocardial contrast between acutely ischemic and
nonischemic myocardial tissue areas using T1-weighted
spin-echo MRI,2 19 as is also demonstrated in our
study. Our study has demonstrated, however, that Gd(DTPA) does induce a
short-lived myocardial contrast between acutely ischemic
and nonischemic myocardial tissue areas (Figs 4 and
5),
which would allow detection only during the first several minutes after
agent administration. Indeed, similar effects were demonstrated by
ultrafast MRI techniques.2 32
The lack of a sustained effect of Gd(DTPA) in spin-echo MRI
in acute ischemia in the absence of a well-developed
infarct is probably due to differences in wash-in, washout effects
in infarcted versus in acutely ischemic myocardial tissue. In
our experiments during acute myocardial ischemia, the short
persistence of Gd(DTPA) in the bloodstream and the lack of a sustained
differential signal enhancement in the normally perfused versus the
underperfused myocardial tissue areas resulted in a short-lived
myocardial contrast. To allow a sustained monitoring of an entire
stress-induced duration of ischemia and reperfusion, a new
myocardial contrast agent (1) should have a sufficiently long
half-life in the blood stream to maintain the appropriate
wash-in, washout effects; (2) must show sufficient organ
specificity; and (3) must retain reasonably efficient in vivo
relaxivity at relatively low dosage. Such an agent is likely to induce
contrast between ischemic and nonischemic
myocardial tissue areas for a period of time sufficient for MRI in
conjunction with exercise testing. Gd(BME-DTTA) fulfills the above
requirements, since it (1) displays a sustained effect; (2) shows
characteristic, specific myocardial accumulation (see Figs 2
and 9 and
Table 2); and (3) retains efficient in vivo relaxivity at a low
dose
(Table 2).
Until recently, cardiac MRI could be performed only at rest or with
pharmacological stress. Treadmill- or bicycle-stress cardiac MRI to
detect ischemia has not been performed. Immediate postexercise
cardiac MRI, however, is possible in both cases. In the immediate
postexercise period, however, no contrast will be seen with previous or
current contrast
agents8 33 34 35 36 37
because of their inability
to induce a persistent myocardial contrast during both acute
ischemia and early reperfusion. Gd(BME-DTTA) induced a
sustained myocardial contrast during ischemia (Figs 5,
7, and 8). Furthermore, upon reperfusion, a
contrast of 19±3%
(P<.05) and 13±4.5% (P<.05) persisted for 5
and 15 minutes, respectively. These were different from the contrast
during ischemia (31±3.3%) with a confidence of
P<.05. The contrasts at 5 and 15 minutes of reperfusion,
however, were not statistically different from each other but were
different from the contrast during control and from the contrast at 35
minutes of reperfusion (P<.05). Thus, the myocardial
contrast values at 5 and 15 minutes of reperfusion still highlight the
ischemic spot in a significant manner (Fig 8). It is our
conclusion that after completion of symptom-limited treadmill- or
bicycle-stress testing, MRI contrast between ischemic and
normal myocardium is likely to be detected when
Gd(BME-DTTA) is injected at the peak of exercise.
The present work has demonstrated that liposomal Gd(BME-DTTA) yields a well-defined contrast between regions of normal and ischemic myocardium by differentiating the ischemic region at the relatively low dosage of 50 µmol/kg. The mechanism of this effect is most likely the creation of a difference in T1 in the normal versus the ischemic region due to the presence of unequal concentrations of contrast agent, which is distributed in proportion to blood flow and specific myocardial uptake. The contrast between the ischemic and nonischemic regions increases with time after agent administration, probably resulting from a wash-in effect of the agent and the time-dependent accumulation of contrast agent in the nonischemic region. After the onset of reperfusion, the contrast between the ischemic and nonischemic regions decreases gradually and disappears, most likely by the reestablishment of normal wash-in to the previously ischemic regions.
Our results demonstrate that liposomal Gd(BME-DTTA), at a relatively low dose, clearly differentiates the tissue areas associated with the ischemic insult. In this study, 99mTc-sestamibi autoradiography used as a comparative standard has verified the ability of our MRI agent to detect the location and size of underperfused myocardium. The Gd(BME-DTTA)–induced myocardial contrast persists for the entire duration of the coronary occlusion and the early postischemic period, thus showing potential usefulness for the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease either by pharmacological stress combined with cardiac MRI (MRI before, during, and after stress) or by physical stress test (MRI before stress and during the postexercise period).
|
Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms |
|---|
|
|
Acknowledgments |
|---|
We thank Dr Tamas Jilling for his help with the process of autoradiographic image digitization and for his helpful suggestions in image processing.
In spin-echo MRI, the signal intensity (I) is determined by
 | (3) |
where Mo is a constant proportional to the spin density, TE is the echo time, TR is the repetition time, R1 is the longitudinal relaxation rate, and R2 is the transverse relaxation rate.
In general, the administration of an MRI contrast
agent changes both R1
and R2. Because of the large initial value of R2 compared with R1,
R2/R2<<R1/R1, and therefore, the paramagnetic change in
R2 can be neglected. Thus, taking the derivative of I with respect to
R1 in Equation 3 yields
 | (4) |
where
 |
and thus
 | (5) |
where
I is, in fact, the IE, and R1 is the paramagnetic
change in the longitudinal relaxation rate. This R1 is linearly
proportional to the contrast agent concentration ([CA]) in the
tissue, and since it is reasonable to assume that [CA] in any tissue
region is proportional to the MP into that tissue, Equation 3
becomes
 | (6) |
Then the change in MRI IE that results from a change in perfusion is given by
 | (7) |
and thus,
 | (8) |
It
is clear from Equation 8 that for a tissue region with a
shorter T1, ie, larger R1, the IE/MP ratio becomes smaller. This
indeed is the case in the nonischemic region compared with
the previously ischemic region. In the former versus the
latter, T1 is already shorter, because of a higher [CA], at the
onset
of reperfusion. This fact accounts for the smaller IE/MP in the
nonischemic versus ischemic regions (see Table 1).
Indeed, the more than twofold ratio in this index as observed between
these two tissue regions can be simulated by calculation using Equation
8 with T1 values of 0.5 and 1.1 seconds for the nonischemic
and ischemic regions, respectively. Note that such T1 values
are similar, within experimental error, to those measured ex vivo, ie,
0.6 and 1.0 second, respectively.
Received August 17, 1993; revision received July 17, 1995; accepted August 8, 1995.
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