Abstract
Introduction Long-term cardiac transplant survival rates can be improved only if patients undergo proper monitoring and treatment after transplantation. Repetitive endomyocardial biopsy, the gold standard for monitoring rejection status, is not only invasive but is also prone to sampling errors because of the limited size and location of graft tissue available. We have developed cellular and functional MRI techniques as a non-invasive method to detect and stage acute cardiac allograft rejection. Our recent studies indicate that macrophages can be detected by MRI in our rat model of CCAR. Therefore, we seek to develop CCMRI for non-invasive evaluation of CCAR.
Highlights
Long-term cardiac transplant survival rates can be improved only if patients undergo proper monitoring and treatment after transplantation
The status of cardiac allograft rejection (CCAR) can be assessed longitudinally by monitoring macrophage infiltration associated with CCAR by cardiac MRI (CCMRI) with a single micrometersized paramagnetic iron oxide (MPIO) injection (Fig. 1AC)
Labeled macrophages appeared as dark spots on T2*weighted images and the location and distribution of labeled macrophages can be mapped with high-resolution 3D-magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) (Fig. 1D-F)
Summary
Long-term cardiac transplant survival rates can be improved only if patients undergo proper monitoring and treatment after transplantation. Repetitive endomyocardial biopsy, the gold standard for monitoring rejection status, is invasive but is prone to sampling errors because of the limited size and location of graft tissue available. We have developed cellular and functional MRI techniques as a non-invasive method to detect and stage acute cardiac allograft rejection. Our recent studies indicate that macrophages can be detected by MRI in our rat model of CCAR. We seek to develop CCMRI for non-invasive evaluation of CCAR.
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