1
|
Kwiatkowski G, Czyzynska-Cichon I, Tielemans B, Geerkens L, Jasztal A, Velde GV, Chłopicki S. Retrospectively gated ultrashort-echo-time MRI T 1 mapping reveals compromised pulmonary microvascular NO-dependent function in a murine model of acute lung injury. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2024; 37:e5105. [PMID: 38225796 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.5105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
This study sought to develop noninvasive, in vivo imaging schemes that allow for quantitative assessment of pulmonary microvascular functional status based on the combination of pulmonary T1 mapping and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DynCE) imaging. Ultrashort-echo-time (UTE) imaging at 9.4 T of lung parenchyma was performed. Retrospective gating was based on modulation of the first point in each recorded spoke. T1 maps were obtained using a series of five consecutive images with varying RF angles and analyzed with the variable flip angle approach. The obtained mean T1 lung value of 1078 ± 38 ms correlated well with previous reports. Improved intersession variability was observed, as evident from a decreased standard deviation of motion-resolved T1 mapping (F-test = 0.051). Animals received lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and were imaged at t = 2, 6, and 12 h after administration. The nitric oxide (NO)-dependent function was assessed according to changes in lung T1 after L-NAME injection, while microvascular perfusion and oxidant stress were assessed with contrast-enhanced imaging after injection of gadolinium or 3-carbamoyl-proxyl nitroxide radical, respectively. Retrospectivel gated UTE allowed robust, motion-compensated imaging that could be used for T1 mapping of lung parenchyma. Changes in lung T1 after L-NAME injection indicated that LPS induced overproduction of NO at t = 2 and 6 h after LPS, but NO-dependent microvascular function was impaired at t = 12 h after LPS. DynCE imaging at t = 6 h after LPS injection revealed decreased microvascular perfusion, with increased vascular permeability and oxidant stress. MRI allows to visualize and quantify lung microvascular NO-dependent function and its concomitant impairment during acute respiratory distress syndrome development with high sensitivity. UTE T1 mapping appears to be sensitive and useful in probing pulmonary microvascular functional status.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Grzegorz Kwiatkowski
- Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET), Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Izabela Czyzynska-Cichon
- Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET), Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Birger Tielemans
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, Biomedical MRI Unit/Molecular Small Animal Imaging Center (MoSAIC), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lotte Geerkens
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, Biomedical MRI Unit/Molecular Small Animal Imaging Center (MoSAIC), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Agnieszka Jasztal
- Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET), Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Greetje Vande Velde
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, Biomedical MRI Unit/Molecular Small Animal Imaging Center (MoSAIC), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stefan Chłopicki
- Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET), Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
- Faculty of Medicine, Chair of Pharmacology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI in the Abdomen of Mice with High Temporal and Spatial Resolution Using Stack-of-Stars Sampling and KWIC Reconstruction. Tomography 2022; 8:2113-2128. [PMID: 36136874 PMCID: PMC9498490 DOI: 10.3390/tomography8050178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Application of quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI in mouse models of abdominal cancer is challenging due to the effects of RF inhomogeneity, image corruption from rapid respiratory motion and the need for high spatial and temporal resolutions. Here we demonstrate a DCE protocol optimized for such applications. The method consists of three acquisitions: (1) actual flip-angle B1 mapping, (2) variable flip-angle T1 mapping and (3) acquisition of the DCE series using a motion-robust radial strategy with k-space weighted image contrast (KWIC) reconstruction. All three acquisitions employ spoiled radial imaging with stack-of-stars sampling (SoS) and golden-angle increments between the views. This scheme is shown to minimize artifacts due to respiratory motion while simultaneously facilitating view-sharing image reconstruction for the dynamic series. The method is demonstrated in a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and yielded mean perfusion parameters of Ktrans = 0.23 ± 0.14 min−1 and ve = 0.31 ± 0.17 (n = 22) over a wide range of tumor sizes. The SoS-sampled DCE method is shown to produce artifact-free images with good SNR leading to robust estimation of DCE parameters.
Collapse
|
3
|
Palmisano A, Piccoli M, Monti CB, Canu T, Cirillo F, Napolitano A, Perani L, Signorelli P, Vignale D, Anastasia L, Esposito A. Single-shot morpho-functional and structural characterization of the left-ventricle in a mouse model of acute ischemia-reperfusion injury with an optimized 3D IntraGate cine FLASH sequence at 7T MR. Magn Reson Imaging 2020; 68:127-135. [PMID: 32004712 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2020.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Preclinical cardiac MR is challenging and time-consuming. A fast and comprehensive acquisition protocol and standardized image post-processing may improve preclinical research, reducing acquisition time, costs and variability of results. In the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of a contrast-enhanced 3D IntraGate steady-state cine sequence (ce-3D-IG-cine) with short acquisition time (11 min) for a single-shot combined characterization of left ventricle (LV) remodeling and infarct size (IS) in a mouse model of acute ischemia-reperfusion injury. Sixteen male C57BL/6N mice underwent 7T cardiac MR (Bruker, BioSpec 70/30) including optimized ce-3D-IG-cine (total scan time 11 min) at day 1, 5 and 28 after surgery. LV end-diastolic volume (EDVMR) and ejection fraction (EFMR) extracted from MR were compared to ones from short-axis (SA-EDVecho, SA-EFecho) and parasternal long-axis (LA-EDVecho, LA-EFecho) echocardiography. IS was manually and semiautomatically segmented from ce-3D-IG-cine using different standard deviation (SD +2, +3, +4, +5, +6 in respect to a reference tissue). Mice were sacrificed at day 28, immediately after imaging. IS at day 28 was compared to injury burden at histology. MR and echocardiographic morpho-functional parameters were compared, as IS from MR and histology. Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the agreement in ischemic burden segmentation. Volumetric and functional parameters measured on ce-3D-IG-cine correlated to the correspondent echocardiographic parameter (EDVMR vs SA-EDVecho: ρ = 0.813; EDVMR vs LA-EDVecho: ρ = 0.845; EFMR vs SA-EFecho ρ = 0.612; EFMR vs LA-EFecho ρ = 0.791; p < 0.001 in all cases). Manually segmented IS strongly correlated with the scar at histology (ρ = 0.904, p < 0.001). A threshold of +3SD showed the highest performance for semiautomatic assessment of IS compared to manual segmentation (ρ = 0.965, p < 0.001), with an overall reproducibility of 73%, and a peak reproducibility of 80% at day 1. The ce-3D-IG-cine sequence, manually or semiautomatically segmented using 3SD threshold, allows fast and comprehensive LV morpho-functional and structural characterization in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury model.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Palmisano
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Preclinical Imaging Facility, Experimental Imaging Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Piccoli
- Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Tamara Canu
- Preclinical Imaging Facility, Experimental Imaging Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Cirillo
- Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy
| | - Angela Napolitano
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Preclinical Imaging Facility, Experimental Imaging Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Perani
- Preclinical Imaging Facility, Experimental Imaging Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Signorelli
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Health Sciences Department, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Davide Vignale
- Preclinical Imaging Facility, Experimental Imaging Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Luigi Anastasia
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy
| | - Antonio Esposito
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Preclinical Imaging Facility, Experimental Imaging Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
de Senneville BD, Cardiet CR, Trotier AJ, Ribot EJ, Lafitte L, Facq L, Miraux S. Optimizing 4D abdominal MRI: image denoising using an iterative back-projection approach. Phys Med Biol 2020; 65:015003. [PMID: 31714255 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ab563e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
4D-MRI is a promising tool for organ exploration, target delineation and treatment planning. Intra-scan motion artifacts may be greatly reduced by increasing the imaging frame rate. However, poor signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) are observed when increasing spatial and/or frame number per physiological cycle, in particular in the abdomen. In the current work, the proposed 4D-MRI method favored spatial resolution, frame number, isotropic voxels and large field-of-view (FOV) during MR-acquisition. The consequential SNR penalty in the reconstructed data is addressed retrospectively using an iterative back-projection (IBP) algorithm. Practically, after computing individual spatial 3D deformations present in the images using a deformable image registration (DIR) algorithm, each 3D image is individually enhanced by fusing several successive frames in its local temporal neighborood, these latter being likely to cover common independent informations. A tuning parameter allows one to freely readjust the balance between temporal resolution and precision of the 4D-MRI. The benefit of the method was quantitatively evaluated on the thorax of 6 mice under free breathing using a clinically acceptable duration. Improved 4D cardiac imaging was also shown in the heart of 1 mice. Obtained results are compared to theoretical expectations and discussed. The proposed implementation is easily parallelizable and optimized 4D-MRI could thereby be obtained with a clinically acceptable duration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B Denis de Senneville
- 'Institut de Mathématiques de Bordeaux', University of Bordeaux/CNRS UMR 5251, 351 Cours de la Libération, 33405 Talence Cedex, France. Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zhang X, Qiu B, Wei Z, Yan F, Shi C, Su S, Liu X, Ji JX, Xie G. Three-dimensional self-gated cardiac MR imaging for the evaluation of myocardial infarction in mouse model on a 3T clinical MR system. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0189286. [PMID: 29216303 PMCID: PMC5720776 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To develop and assess a three-dimensional (3D) self-gated technique for the evaluation of myocardial infarction (MI) in mouse model without the use of external electrocardiogram (ECG) trigger and respiratory motion sensor on a 3T clinical MR system. Methods A 3D T1-weighted GRE sequence with stack-of-stars sampling trajectories was developed and performed on six mice with MIs that were injected with a gadolinium-based contrast agent at a 3T clinical MR system. Respiratory and cardiac self-gating signals were derived from the Cartesian mapping of the k-space center along the partition encoding direction by bandpass filtering in image domain. The data were then realigned according to the predetermined self-gating signals for the following image reconstruction. In order to accelerate the data acquisition, image reconstruction was based on compressed sensing (CS) theory by exploiting temporal sparsity of the reconstructed images. In addition, images were also reconstructed from the same realigned data by conventional regridding method for demonstrating the advantageous of the proposed reconstruction method. Furthermore, the accuracy of detecting MI by the proposed method was assessed using histological analysis as the standard reference. Linear regression and Bland-Altman analysis were used to assess the agreement between the proposed method and the histological analysis. Results Compared to the conventional regridding method, the proposed CS method reconstructed images with much less streaking artifact, as well as a better contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between the blood and myocardium (4.1 ± 2.1 vs. 2.9 ± 1.1, p = 0.031). Linear regression and Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated that excellent correlation was obtained between infarct sizes derived from the proposed method and histology analysis. Conclusion A 3D T1-weighted self-gating technique for mouse cardiac imaging was developed, which has potential for accurately evaluating MIs in mice at 3T clinical MR system without the use of external ECG trigger and respiratory motion sensor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyong Zhang
- Centers for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Bensheng Qiu
- Centers for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- * E-mail: (GX); (BQ)
| | - Zijun Wei
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Fei Yan
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Caiyun Shi
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Shi Su
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xin Liu
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jim X. Ji
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Guoxi Xie
- The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- * E-mail: (GX); (BQ)
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Crowe LA, Montecucco F, Carbone F, Friedli I, Hachulla AL, Braunersreuther V, Mach F, Vallée JP. 4D cardiac imaging at clinical 3.0T provides accurate assessment of murine myocardial function and viability. Magn Reson Imaging 2017; 44:46-54. [PMID: 28827099 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2017.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2017] [Revised: 07/22/2017] [Accepted: 07/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We validate a 4D strategy tailored for 3T clinical systems to simultaneously quantify function and infarct size in wild type mice after ischemia/reperfusion, with improved spatial and temporal resolution by comparison to previous published protocols using clinical field MRI systems. METHODS C57BL/6J mice underwent 60min ischemia/reperfusion (n=14) or were controls without surgery (n=6). Twenty-four hours after surgery mice were imaged with gadolinium injection and sacrificed for post-mortem MRI and histology with serum also taken for Troponin I levels. The double ECG- and respiratory-triggered 3D FLASH (Fast Low Angle Shot) gradient echo (GRE) cine sequence had an acquired isotropic resolution of 344μm, TR/TE of 7.8/2.9ms and acquisition time 25-35min. The conventional 2D FLASH cine sequence had the same in-plane resolution of 344μm, 1mm slice thickness and TR/TE 11/5.4ms for an acquisition time of 20-25min plus 5min for planning. Left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) volumes were measured and functional parameters compared 2D to 3D, left to right and for inter and intra observer reproducibility. MRI infarct volume was compared to histology. RESULTS For the function evaluation, the 3D cine outperformed 2D cine for spatial and temporal resolution. Protocol time for the two methods was equivalent (25-35min). Flow artifacts were reduced (p=0.008) and epi/endo-cardial delineation showed good intra and interobserver reproducibility. Paired t-test comparing ejection volume left to right showed no significant difference for 3D (p=0.37), nor 2D (p=0.30) and correlation slopes of left to right EV were 1.17 (R2=0.75) for 2D and 1.05 (R2=0.50) for 3D. Quantifiable 'late gadolinium enhancement' infarct volume was seen only with the 3D cine and correlated to histology (R2=0.89). Left ejection fraction and MRI-measured infarct volume correlated (R2>0.3). CONCLUSIONS The 4D strategy, with contrast injection, was validated in mice for function and infarct quantification from a single scan with minimal slice planning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey A Crowe
- Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, Geneva University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Fabrizio Montecucco
- First Clinic of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, 6 viale Benedetto XV, 16132 Genoa, Italy; IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST, Genova, 10 Largo Rosanna Benzi, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
| | - Federico Carbone
- First Clinic of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, 6 viale Benedetto XV, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
| | - Iris Friedli
- Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, Geneva University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Anne-Lise Hachulla
- Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, Geneva University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Vincent Braunersreuther
- Division of Pathology, Department of Genetics and Laboratory Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - François Mach
- Division of Cardiology, Foundation for Medical Researches, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Geneva, 64 avenue de la Roseraie, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Jean-Paul Vallée
- Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, Geneva University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|