Detection of acute cellular rejection in heart transplantation at the early stage using two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging and ICAM-1-targeted myocardial contrast echocardiography / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate whether two-dimension speckle tracking imaging(2D-STI) and ICAM-1-targeted myocardial contrast echocardiography could detect the acute cellular rejection of heart transplantation at the early stage.Methods The abdominal heterotopic heart transplantation model was successfully established using Wistar and SD rats.Forty-eight rats were divided into allografts (ALLO) group (n =24) and isografts(ISO) group (n =24).Echocardiography,2D-STI and ICAM-1 targeted myocardial contrast echocardiography were performed at 1,3,5 day after transplantation respectively.After ultrasound imaging,transplanted hearts were harvested for Hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunofluorescence histochemistry to evaluate acute cellular rejection and ICAM-1 expression.Results There were obvious difference between ALLO group and ISO group in echocardiographic parameters at 5 days after transplantation surgery (all P ＜0.05).Compared with those in ISO group,global circumferential strain and strain rate (GCS,GCSr),and circumferential strain of endo-myocardium (CSendo) decreased in ALLO group at day 3 post-transplantation (all P＜0.05).Compared with those in ISO group,all strain parameters in ALLO decreased significantly at postoperative day 5 (all P＜ 0.05).Myocardial contrast echocardiography using ICAM-1-targeted microbubbles showed that the video intensity in ALLO group was significant higher than that in ISO group at postoperative day 3 and day 5 (all P＜0.05).Conclusions 2D-STI and myocardial contrast echocardiography using ICAM-1-targeted microbubbles are sensitive and useful for detecting heart transplant acute rejection at the early stage.