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Functional cardiac imaging in mice using Ta–178

Nature Medicine volume 5, pages 237–239 (1999)Cite this article

Recent advances in genetic manipulations affecting the cardiovascular system in mice1,2 have produced promising new tools for studying cardiac pathophysiology and have in turn created a need for high–quality imaging in very small animals. For example, in assessing adaptations of genetically altered mice to pressure overload3 or coronary occlusion simulating human heart diseases4,5,6, it is often necessary to quantify ventricular function in vivo several times before and during adaptation. Ultrasound7,8,9, X–rays10, and magnetic resonance imaging11 (MRI) are among the methods that are being adapted for use in mice, but these techniques all have marginal spatial and temporal resolution for use in animals weighing less than 30 g and with heart rates exceeding 600 beats/min.

Radionuclide ventriculography

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Figure 1: a, A mouse taped to ECG electrodes on a plastic board positioned below the pinhole lens of the multiwire gamma camera.
Figure 2: a, A mouse heart at a magnification approximating the accompanying first–pass nuclear images, which show consecutive end–diastolic frames (front view) as the isotope passes through the heart.
Figure 3: a, Successive determinations of EF within 15–30 min in 23 mice, demonstrating the reproducibility of the method.
Figure 4: a, Responses to dobutamine in 41 mice showing an increase in EF (mean ± s.e.m.) of 38 ± 5.6%, P < 0.001.

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Acknowledgements

The device described here is being developed under an SBIR grant R44–HL57086 and will soon be available commercially. The technical assistance of J. Pocius, T. Pham, S. Daniels, E. Funk, R.J. Hartley, J.A. Brooks and A.K. Reddy of Baylor College of Medicine, as well as H.C. Thompson, and C.S. Martin of Proportional Technologies is appreciated.The work at Baylor College of Medicine was supported by NIH grants P01–HL42550 and R37–HL22512, and the DeBakey Heart Center.

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  1. Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiovascular Sciences Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Craig J. Hartley, Jeffrey L. Lacy, George E. Taffet, Mark L. Entman & Lloyd H. Michael

  2. Proportional Technologies, 8018 El Rio, Houston, 77054, Texas, USA

    Jeffrey L. Lacy, Dayang Dai & Nisha Nayak

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  1. Craig J. Hartley
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Correspondence to Craig J. Hartley.

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Hartley, C., Lacy, J., Dai, D. et al. Functional cardiac imaging in mice using Ta–178. Nat Med 5, 237–239 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/5602

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