PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Stegger, Lars
AU  - Hoffmeier, Anne-Nadine
AU  - Schäfers, Klaus P.
AU  - Hermann, Sven
AU  - Schober, Otmar
AU  - Schäfers, Michael A.
AU  - Theilmeier, Gregor
TI  - Accurate Noninvasive Measurement of Infarct Size in Mice with High-Resolution PET
DP  - 2006 Nov 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1837--1844
VI  - 47
IP  - 11
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/47/11/1837.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/47/11/1837.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2006 Nov 01; 47
AB  - Reliable, repeatable, and time-efficient noninvasive measurement of infarct size in mice with PET would benefit studies aimed at the exploration of biochemical and functional changes associated with acute myocardial infarction (MI). PET with the radioactively labeled glucose derivative 18F-FDG is used in humans to distinguish between viable but dysfunctional and nonviable myocardium. In this study, the feasibility, accuracy, and time efficiency of 18F-FDG PET for quantification of infarct size in mice using a high-resolution animal PET device was evaluated in comparison with histomorphometry. Methods: Mice were subjected to surgery with permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery. PET was performed before and 7 d after surgery. The infarct size was determined from the PET studies using both manual and automated delineation. The second PET scan was followed by histomorphometric analysis. Results: An excellent correlation between PET and histomorphometry was found for both manual (R = 0.98) and automated (R = 0.98) delineation, with linear regression curves close to unity (manual: y = 1.10x − 0.01; automated: y = 1.12x − 0.02). Automated analysis required <1 min per study. Conclusion: The measurement of infarct size in mice with 18F-FDG PET is feasible and highly accurate. This noninvasive methodology permits unique longitudinal studies of biochemical parameters in mice and facilitates studies that aim to assess the effect of surgical and pharmacologic intervention after acute MI.