Doost Ata, Arnolda Leonard
Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Fiona Stanley Hospital, Cardiology Department, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.
J Med Imaging (Bellingham). 2021 Mar;8(2):027001. doi: 10.1117/1.JMI.8.2.027001. Epub 2021 Mar 26.
Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scan provides high-resolution three-dimensional images of mineralized tissues in small animal models. Contrast enhancement is essential to visualize non-mineralized tissues with micro-CT scan. We attempted to compare the two most common contrast agents to stain and image mouse cardiac structures. micro-CT scan images of the mouse hearts were obtained following staining by potassium iodide or phosphotungstic acid (PTA). PTA-stained samples were imaged after various durations following staining (14 days, 25 days, 187 days, and 780 days), whereas iodine-stained samples were imaged after 72 hours. We compared median staining intensity between PTA and iodine at 0.1-mm intervals from the edge using the Mann Whitney test with correction for multiple comparisons. Sixty post-natal mice hearts were stained with either PTA or iodine and imaged using micro-CT scan. Iodine proved to be faster and more uniform in complete enhancement of cardiac tissue in as short as 72 h, whereas PTA required a significantly longer time period to penetrate mouse cardiac structure ( ). Median staining intensity with iodine was strongly higher than that with PTA from 0.1- to 1.5-mm distance from the epicardial edge (2-tailed value or lower throughout). Iodine-stained soft tissue imaging by micro-CT scan provides a non-destructive, efficient, and accurate visualization tool for anatomical analysis of animal heart models of human cardiovascular conditions. Iodine is more efficient compared to PTA to achieve complete murine myocardial staining in a significantly shorter time period.
微计算机断层扫描（micro-CT）可提供小动物模型中矿化组织的高分辨率三维图像。对比增强对于通过微CT扫描可视化非矿化组织至关重要。我们试图比较两种最常用的造影剂对小鼠心脏结构进行染色和成像的效果。在用碘化钾或磷钨酸（PTA）染色后，获取小鼠心脏的微CT扫描图像。PTA染色的样本在染色后的不同时间段（14天、25天、187天和780天）进行成像，而碘染色的样本在72小时后进行成像。我们使用Mann Whitney检验并进行多重比较校正，以0.1毫米的间隔从边缘比较PTA和碘之间的中位染色强度。60个出生后小鼠的心脏用PTA或碘染色，并使用微CT扫描成像。结果证明，碘在短短72小时内就能更快、更均匀地完全增强心脏组织，而PTA穿透小鼠心脏结构所需的时间则长得多。从心外膜边缘0.1毫米到1.5毫米的距离内，碘的中位染色强度明显高于PTA（整个范围内双尾P值小于或等于）。通过微CT扫描对碘染色的软组织成像为人类心血管疾病动物心脏模型的解剖分析提供了一种无损、高效且准确的可视化工具。与PTA相比，碘能在明显更短的时间内更有效地实现对小鼠心肌的完全染色。
