2010 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

The nuclear medicine study of connexin43 expression and denervation in rabbit heart with myocardial infarction

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20790555
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Circulatory organs internal medicine
Research Institution	Tokai University
Principal Investigator	AMINO Mari Tokai University, 医学部, 講師 (10407976)
Project Period (FY)	2008 – 2010
Keywords	致死性心室性不整脈 / コネキシン43 / ウサギ梗塞モデル / 心臓核医学検査
Research Abstract	Fatal arrhythmia such as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) occurs to a high rate for the condition of a patient with a myocardial infarction or heart failure. We examined the quantification of connexin 43 (Cx43) expressions by using the nuclear medicine techniques in the rabbit infarction model, and investigated the relation between the abnormal Cx43 distribution and the change of the norepinephrine metabolism of the sympathetic nerve ending (functional denervation) using 123I-metaiodobenzyleguanidine (MIBG) nuclear medicine. In the results of ^<123>I-anti-Cx43 in vitro ARG, the accumulation of Cx43 decreased at the infarction and neighboring areas which were corresponded to be confirmed by the Cx43 immunostaining, Azan stain, and MIBG exam. In addition the accumulation of Cx43 decreased in the interventricular septum. Because there were bundle of His and Purkinje fibers in the interventricular septum, and this mainstream gap junction was Cx40, therefore the decreased expressions of Cx43 might reflect the relative attenuation. The ^<123>I-anti-Cx43 in vitro ARG has a possibility to be effective for an identification of the diseased and physiological distribution of Cx43.