Normal 123I-MIBG uptake areas may be associated with hyperinnervation and arrhythmia risk in phenol model rabbit hearts

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26461091
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cardiovascular medicine
• Research Institution: Tokai University
• Principal Investigator: AMINO Mari 東海大学, 医学部, 准教授 (10407976)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 吉岡 公一郎 東海大学, 医学部, 教授 (30246087)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: MIBG / 交感神経過増生 / 除神経モデル / うさぎ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) is useful for detecting sympathetic innervation in the heart, and has been closely associated with fatal arrhythmias. However, such imaging is typically calibrated to the area of highest uptake and thus is unable to identify areas of hyperinnervation. We hypothesized that normal 123I-MIBG uptake regions in the denervated heart would demonstrate nerve sprouting and correlate with the potential for arrhythmogenesis.
Twenty New Zealand white rabbits treated with phenol or sham were prepared under anesthesia. Sympathetic innervation was quantified using autoradiography and immunostaining 4 weeks after phenol application, and electrophysiological study was performed.
The presence of hyperinnervation in the non-denervated regions of denervated rabbit hearts suggests that heterogeneous neural remodeling occurs in regions with seemingly normal 123I-MIBG uptake and contributes to electrical instability.

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