Undergraduate Research Assistant University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Introduction:: Heart disease is a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and it is crucial to develop accurate and non-invasive methods for detecting and monitoring the progression of the disease. One approach to this is the use of ultrasound imaging techniques, which can provide high-resolution images of the heart in real-time. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of 4D strain analysis of the heart, which involves tracking the movement of tissue over time to quantify its deformation in three dimensions. While 4D strain analysis can provide important information about the mechanical properties of the heart, it does not offer insight into the biochemical changes that may be occurring in the tissue. Spatial mass spectrometry can provide this detailed information about the distribution of lipids and other molecules within tissue samples. In this context, this study will compare 4D strain analysis of the heart using ultrasound imaging techniques with lipid spatial mass spec results of the same cardiac tissue. By analyzing both the mechanical and biochemical properties of the tissue, we hope to gain a more complete understanding of how heart disease affects the heart at both the macroscopic and molecular levels.
Materials and Methods:: Young and aged male and female RAG and C57BL6 mice were imaged via ultrasound (Vevo 3100, Visual Sonics). Prior to imaging, mice were anesthetized using isoflurane and placed on a heating pad to maintain body temperature during the procedure and ECG was monitored throughout imaging. The chest area was Naired, and ultrasound gel was applied to the skin. 4D images were collected in the short axis and saved to VEVO software. 4D analysis was performed using MATLAB software. After imaging, the mice were sacrificed using an overdose of isoflurane. The hearts were rapidly excised then flash frozen on liquid nitrogen. Once frozen, the tissue was stored in a -80 C freezer. Heart tissue was sectioned onto slides with a cryostat. After sectioning, the slides were placed in a desiccator in preparation for MALDI MSI. The matrix DHB will be sprayed on the slides using an HTX sprayer before running in positive ion mode in mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry data will be analyzed to determine the lipids present in the tissue.
Results, Conclusions, and Discussions:: The findings of this study are of significant importance for the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, as they may help to identify new biomarkers or therapeutic targets for the disease. Furthermore, our work demonstrates the potential of integrating multiple imaging techniques to gain a more comprehensive understanding of complex biological systems. We believe that our study provides valuable insights into the use of 4D strain analysis of the heart in conjunction with lipid spatial mass spectrometry. We hope that our work will inspire further research into the integration of different imaging techniques, ultimately leading to the development of new and more effective diagnostic and therapeutic tools for a deeper understanding of heart disease.
