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. 2019 Mar 16;20(6):1339.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20061339.

Distribution of Gadolinium in Rat Heart Studied by Fast Field Cycling Relaxometry and Imaging SIMS

Claudia Bonechi  1   2 , Marco Consumi  3   4 , Marco Matteucci  5 , Gabriella Tamasi  6   7 , Alessandro Donati  8   9 , Gemma Leone  10   11 , Luca Menichetti  12 , Claudia Kusmic  13 , Claudio Rossi  14   15 , Agnese Magnani  16   17
Affiliations

Distribution of Gadolinium in Rat Heart Studied by Fast Field Cycling Relaxometry and Imaging SIMS

Claudia Bonechi et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Research on microcirculatory alterations in human heart disease is essential to understand the genesis of myocardial contractile dysfunction and its evolution towards heart failure. The use of contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging is an important tool in medical diagnostics related to this dysfunction. Contrast agents significantly improve the imaging by enhancing the nuclear magnetic relaxation rates of water protons in the tissues where they are distributed. Gadolinium complexes are widely employed in clinical practice due to their high magnetic moment and relatively long electronic relaxation time. In this study, the behavior of gadolinium ion as a contrast agent was investigated by two complementary methods, relaxometry and secondary ion mass spectrometry. The study examined the distribution of blood flow within the microvascular network in ex vivo Langendorff isolated rat heart models, perfused with Omniscan® contrast agent. The combined use of secondary ion mass spectrometry and relaxometry allowed for both a qualitative mapping of agent distribution as well as the quantification of gadolinium ion concentration and persistence. This combination of a chemical mapping and temporal analysis of the molar concentration of gadolinium ion in heart tissue allows for new insights on the biomolecular mechanisms underlying the microcirculatory alterations in heart disease.

Keywords: NMRD profiles; ToF-SIMS; gadolinium; tissue microimaging.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
1H-NMRD profile for homogenate rat heart: Without perfusion of Omniscan and with perfusion of Omniscan. For all relaxation rate values, the error bar (5%) was reported.
Figure 2
Figure 2
1H NMR relaxation rate (R1) of a rat heart homogenized with standard addition of Gd3+ and linear fitting.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Optical image of (a) the full heart tissue section, and (b) the magnification of the region close to the ventricle showing the damaged tissue (ischemic area).
Figure 4
Figure 4
ToF-SIMS maps of non-ischemic tissue: (a) Heart tissue section close to the ventricle (image area: 700 × 700 µm); (b) heart tissue section near blood vessels (image area: 250 × 250 µm).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Total ions image that highlights three different areas of the sample: Ischemic region (upper left), ventricular wall (middle), and ventricle (lower right); (b) distribution map of Gd(III); the image shows accumulation in the ischemic region (upper left); (c) ion distribution overlay with Gd (blue) and Si (green); (d) total ions image of a different region of the sample; (e) Gd(III) distribution map highlighting the accumulation of the tracers in the ischemic region beyond the ventricular wall.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Structure of Omniscan, Gd(DTPA-BMA)(H2O).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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