A longitudinal study on BIO14.6 hamsters with dilated cardiomyopathy: micro-echocardiographic evaluation

Cardiovascular Ultrasound

Research

Santolo Cozzolino¹  Maria Paola Belfiore²  Daniela Berritto²  Claudia Rossi²  Salvatore Cappabianca²  Antonio Rotondo²  Roberto Grassi²  Francesca Iacobellis²  Ida Luisa Rotundo³  Gerardo Nigro³ 

[1] Biotechnology Center, "A. Cardarelli" Hospital, Via Cardarelli 9, 80131, Napoli, Italy;Institute of Radiology, Second University of Naples (SUN), P.zza Miraglia 2, 80138, Napoli, Italy;Via Pietro Castellino 111, Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), 80131, Napoli, Italy;

关键词: μ-US;    muscular dystrophy;    gene therapy;    animal model;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1476-7120-9-39

 received in 2011-07-12, accepted in 2011-12-08,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn recent years, several new technologies for small-animal imaging have been developed. In particular, the use of ultrasound in animal imaging has focused on the investigation of accessible biological structures such as the heart, of which it provides a morphological and functional assessment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of micro-ultrasonography (μ-US) in a longitudinal study on BIO14.6 cardiomyopathic hamsters treated with gene therapy.MethodsThirty hamsters were divided into three groups (n = 10): Group I, untreated BIO 14.6 hamsters; Group II, BIO 14.6 hamsters treated with gene therapy; Group III, untreated wild type (WT) hamsters. All hamsters underwent serial μ-US sessions and were sacrificed at predetermined time points.Resultsμ-US revealed: in Group I, progressive dilation of the left ventricle with a change in heart morphology from an elliptical to a more spherical shape, altered configuration of the mitral valve and subvalvular apparatus, and severe reduction in ejection fraction; in Group II, mild decrease in contractile function and ejection fraction; in Group III, normal cardiac chamber morphology and function. There was a negative correlation between the percentage of fibrosis observed at histology and the ejection fraction obtained on μ-echocardiography (Spearman r: -0.839; p < 0.001).ConclusionsAlthough histological examination remains indispensable for a conclusive diagnosis, high-frequency μ-echocardiography, thanks to the high spatial and contrast resolution, can be considered sufficient for monitoring therapeutic efficacy and/or the progression of dilated cardiomyopathy, providing an alternative tool for repeatable and noninvasive evaluation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Belfiore et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.