Damian J Tyler1, Angus Lau1, Ferdia Gallagher2, and Marie A Schroeder1
1DPAG, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2Radiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
The aim of this
study was to evaluate the potential of hyperpolarised [1, 4-13C2]fumarate,
coupled with MRS, to measure cardiac necrosis during ischemia and reperfusion.
Hyperpolarised [1, 4-13C2]fumarate was infused into rat
hearts at three time points, corresponding with the healthy heart, early
reperfusion after a 20 min ischemic period, and late reperfusion. The amount of
[1, 4-13C2]malate production was measured using MRS and
quantified to reflect degree of cardiomyocyte necrosis. We observed a 3.8-fold increase in [1,4-13C2]malate
during the late reperfusion period but no change in early reperfusion,
suggesting that necrotic cell death takes place during reperfusion only. This
technique shows potential to evaluate therapies targeting necrosis to prevent
cardiac remodeling into failure.
