β2-adrenergic stress evaluation of coronary endothelial-dependent vasodilator function in mice using (11)C-acetate micro-PET imaging of myocardial blood flow and oxidative metabolism.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction is associated with vascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes, leading to coronary atherosclerosis. Sympathetic stress using cold-pressor testing (CPT) has been used to measure coronary endothelial function in humans with positron emission tomography (PET) myocardial blood flow (MBF) imaging, but is not practical in small animal models. This study characterized coronary vasomotor function in mice with [(11)C]acetate micro-PET measurements of nitric-oxide-mediated endothelial flow reserve (EFRNOM) (adrenergic-stress/rest MBF) and myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) using salbutamol β2-adrenergic-activation.