Mechanism of localization of 99mTc-labeled pyrophosphate and tetracycline in infarcted myocardium.

The gross and subcellular localizations of 99mTc-labeled pyrophosphate and tetracycline in myocardial infarcts were studied in a rabbit model. Experiments utilizing double-nuclide labeling were carried out using a useful mapping technique. Concentration of the various chelates decreases in an expected manner from the center of the infarcted area toward its periphery, but it is higher near the epicardial surface than toward the endocardium. Technetium-99m-pyrophosphate is concentrated in the same infarcted areas as 45Ca ion or 32P-pyrophosphate, but to a much greater degree. The uptake is dependent on both the degree of necrosis and residual blood flow. Gel filtration experiments with rabbit serum indicate that 99mTc-tagged pyrophosphate, tetracycline, and diphosphonate are mainly protein-bound, whereas 32P-pyrophosphate is not. Subcellular localization studies show that 99mTc-tetracycline and 99mTc-pyrophosphate are bound primarily to soluble protein, and only a small fraction is associated with nuclei, mitochondria, and microsomes. The uptake of technetium chelates in myocardial infarcts may be due to the formation of polynuclear complexes with denatured macromolecules rather than to the deposition of calcium in mitochrondria.