School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Hokkaido, Japan.
J Vet Intern Med. 2012 Jul-Aug;26(4):1056-60. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2012.00953.x. Epub 2012 Jun 11.
The association between plasma cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and the magnitude of cardiac enlargement in calves with congenital heart disease (CHD) are not well defined.
To investigate the relationship between plasma cTnI concentrations and cardiac size in healthy calves and calves with CHD.
A total of 19 healthy calves (control) and 12 Holstein calves with CHD (patent ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, tetralogy of Fallot or double outlet right ventricle).
Case control study. All animals underwent a comprehensive transthoracic echocardiographic study to document cardiac health or presence of CHD. The vertebral heart score (VHS) was determined in each animal using right lateral survey radiographic images. Blood samples were collected via jugular venipuncture and plasma cTnI concentration and creatine kinase (CK) activity were determined by a 3rd generation immunoassay and an automatic biochemical analyzer, respectively. Groups were compared using Mann-Whitney U-test and receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis.
Calves with CHD had significantly larger VHS values and higher plasma cTnI concentrations (P < .001) compared to control. Creatine kinase activity was not different between the control and CHD groups of calves. Diagnostic cutoffs of VHS and plasma cTnI for discrimination of groups were 8.9 vertebrae and 0.035 ng/mL, respectively. The cTnI concentration in plasma was significantly correlated with VHS (r (2) =0.512, P < .001).
Our results suggest that determination of plasma cTnI concentrations in calves with clinical signs compatible with CHD might prove useful as a guide to quantify cardiac remodeling associated with increased cardiac size.
血浆心肌肌钙蛋白 I（cTnI）与先天性心脏病（CHD）牛心脏扩大程度之间的关系尚未明确。
研究健康牛和 CHD 牛的血浆 cTnI 浓度与心脏大小之间的关系。
共 19 头健康牛（对照组）和 12 头荷斯坦 CHD 牛（动脉导管未闭、室间隔缺损、法洛四联症或右心室双出口）。
病例对照研究。所有动物均接受全面的经胸超声心动图检查，以记录心脏健康状况或 CHD 的存在。使用右侧侧位放射图像确定每个动物的椎骨心脏评分（VHS）。通过颈静脉穿刺采集血样，通过第三代免疫测定法和自动生化分析仪分别测定血浆 cTnI 浓度和肌酸激酶（CK）活性。使用曼-惠特尼 U 检验和受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析比较组间差异。
与对照组相比，CHD 牛的 VHS 值显著增大，血浆 cTnI 浓度显著升高（P<0.001）。对照组和 CHD 组牛的 CK 活性无差异。区分两组的 VHS 和血浆 cTnI 的诊断截止值分别为 8.9 个椎体和 0.035ng/mL。血浆 cTnI 浓度与 VHS 显著相关（r²=0.512，P<0.001）。
我们的研究结果表明，在具有与 CHD 一致的临床症状的牛中测定血浆 cTnI 浓度可能有助于量化与心脏扩大相关的心脏重塑。
