Antimyosin antibodies in cardiac rejection.

The antimyosin antibody is often applied to find out scintigraphically whether myocarditis, myocardial infarction, or (recently) cardiac rejection is present. In the past, a lot of experimental work and clinical studies were done to determine its position, especially for the noninvasive detection of cardiac transplant rejection. Efforts are focused on comparing its diagnostic benefit with that of endomyocardial biopsy. The feasibility of rejection grading and diagnostic reliability are essential parts of this discussion. On the basis of large prospective clinical studies and the information from several experimental animal trials, some important findings can be assumed. Antimyosin scintigraphy after the application of indium 111-labeled antimyosin antibodies is a reliable tool to detect or exclude noninvasively cardiac rejection in adults and children. A distinction among three rejection intensities is possible, as confirmed by immunohistologic examinations. Antimyosin scintigraphy is an important noninvasive method for detecting cardiac rejection, with considerable advantages compared with endomyocardial biopsy.