| Objective:Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) plays a pivotal role in the homing of stem cells to an injured myocardium. The purpose of this study was to determine whether contrast-enhanced ultrasonography that targets SDF-1 might facilitate the molecular imaging of SDF-1 expression in a swine model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in vivo.Methods:Three of the 24 miniswine were randomly selected as the control group (n=3, sham operation); The remaining 21 miniswine underwent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). Three animals were died, so the remaining 18 miniswine was randomly assigned to one of the six experimental groups (n=3, the groups were divided based on the duration of the myocardial infarction). All animals were injected with a targeted microbubble ultrasound contrast agent (T+T group) and a normal ultrasound contrast agent (T+C group). The values of the myocardial perfusion parameters (A, β, and A×β) were determined using Q-Lab(Philips ultrasound, version 9.0) and SDF-1RT-PCR analysis after death.Results:The correlations between the myocardial perfusion parameters and the SDF-1 RT-PCR results were analyzed. The trend in the myocardial perfusion parameters in the T+T group was consistent with that in SDF-1; They both peaked at 1 w, after which they began to decline. The A and A×β values were correlated with SDF-1 in the T+C group (r=0.547 and 0.506; P<0.05); The A, p, and Axp values were correlated with SDF-1 in the T+T group (r=0.887,0.892, and 0.942; P<0.05 and P<0.01). Regression equations were established for the relations of the A, β, and A×β values (X) with SDF-1 (Y): F=0.699X-0.6048, Y=0.4698X+0.3282, and Y=0.0945X+0.6685, respectively (R2=0.772, 0.7957, and 0.8871; P<0.05 and P< 0.01).Conclusion:A targeted microbubble ultrasound contrast agent could be used to evaluate the characteristics of the variation in SDF-1 over time and for the analysis of SDF-1 content in vivo after acute myocardial infarction. |
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