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Micro-Positron Emission Tomography in the Evaluation of Trypanosoma cruzi-Induced Heart Disease: Comparison with Other Modalities

Noninvasive assessment of cardiac structure and function is essential to understand the natural course of murine infection with Trypanosoma cruzi. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and echocardiography have been used to monitor anatomy and function; positron emission tomography (PET) is ideal for monitoring metabolic events in the myocardium. Mice infected with T. cruzi (Brazil strain) were imaged 15–100 days post infection (dpi). Quantitative ¹⁸F-FDG microPET imaging, MRI and echocardiography were performed and compared. Tracer (¹⁸F-FDG) uptake was significantly higher in infected mice at all days of infection, from 15 to 100 dpi. Dilatation of the right ventricular chamber was observed by MRI from 30 to 100 dpi in infected mice. Echocardiography revealed significantly reduced ejection fraction by 60 dpi. Combination of these three complementary imaging modalities makes it possible to noninvasively quantify cardiovascular function, morphology, and metabolism from the earliest days of infection through the chronic phase.

Received June 18, 2009. Accepted for publication July 17, 2009.

Acknowledgments: We thank Lina M. Restrepo for training in use of the echocardiographic equipment and Jorge Durand for MRI assistance.

Financial support: NIH grant AI076248(HBT), CMP was supported by Fogarty International Training grant D43-TW007129 (HBT) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (06/52882-3; 06/59618-0; 08/00954-6).

Disclaimer: There are no potential conflicts of interest.

^* Address all correspondence to Herbert B. Tanowitz, Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461. E-mail: tanowitz{at}aecom.yu.edu

Note: Supplemental data can be found online at www.ajtmh.org.

Authors’ addresses: Cibele M. Prado and Marcos A. Rossi, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes n 3900, Monte Alegre, CEP 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Eugene J. Fine and Wade Koba, M. Donald Blaufox Laboratory for Molecular Imaging, Department of Medicine and Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461. Dazhi Zhao, Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461. Herbert B. Tanowitz, Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, Tel: 718-430-3342, Fax: 718-430-8543, E-mail: tanowitz{at}aecom.yuedu. Linda A. Jelicks, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461.