Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels are upregulated in myocardial infarction. Recent data suggest a causal role of the IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) in coronary heart disease. We evaluated if IL-6R blockade by a monoclonal antibody (MR16-1) prevents the heart from adverse left ventricular remodeling in a mouse model of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMeasurement of cardiac function is often performed in mice after, for example, a myocardial infarction. Cardiac MRI is often used because it is noninvasive and provides high temporal and spatial resolution for the left and right ventricle. In animal cardiac MRI, the quality of the required electrocardiogram signal is variable and sometimes deteriorates over time, especially with infarcted hearts or cardiac hypertrophy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: USPIOs are used clinically as contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of lymph nodes, and in research settings for MRI of macrophages in atherosclerotic lesions. However, T2* weighted (T2*w) imaging can lead to "blooming" with overestimation of the area occupied by USPIOs. In this study, plaque uptake of USPIOs in atherosclerotic mice was investigated in the presence and absence of circulating monocytes.
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