Chen X J, Hedlund L W, Möller H E, Chawla M S, Maronpot R R, Johnson G A
Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Oct 10;97(21):11478-81. doi: 10.1073/pnas.97.21.11478.
Emphysema is a pulmonary disease characterized by alveolar wall destruction, resulting in enlargement of gas exchange spaces without fibrosis. This condition is a part of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which causes 3.5% of deaths worldwide [Anonymous (1990) World Health Stat. Q. Special, 1-51] and contributes greatly to the global burden of disease [Murray, C. J. & Lopez, A. D. (1996) Science 274, 740-743]. Alveolar regeneration has been shown in animal models and could have potential for clinical treatment of early-stage emphysema. However, current techniques for detection of emphysema are not sensitive at the initial stages. Early-stage human panacinar emphysema is modeled in elastase-treated animals. Here, we provide an in vivo imaging method for differentiating normal and emphysematous rat lungs by measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of hyperpolarized (3)He by using magnetic resonance imaging. These data show that the ADC is significantly larger in elastase-treated rats, indicating alveolar expansion. Whereas these rats were clinically asymptomatic, conventional histology confirmed presence of injury. Our results indicate that measurement of the hyperpolarized (3)He ADC can be a valuable research tool and has potential application in the clinical setting.
肺气肿是一种以肺泡壁破坏为特征的肺部疾病，导致气体交换空间扩大而无纤维化。这种情况是慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）的一部分，COPD在全球导致3.5%的死亡[匿名（1990年）《世界卫生统计季刊》特刊，第1 - 51页]，并对全球疾病负担有很大影响[默里，C.J. & 洛佩兹，A.D.（1996年）《科学》274，740 - 743]。在动物模型中已显示肺泡再生，并且对早期肺气肿的临床治疗可能具有潜力。然而，目前检测肺气肿的技术在初始阶段并不敏感。早期人类全腺泡型肺气肿在经弹性蛋白酶处理的动物中建模。在此，我们提供一种体内成像方法，通过使用磁共振成像测量超极化³He的表观扩散系数（ADC）来区分正常和患肺气肿的大鼠肺。这些数据表明，在经弹性蛋白酶处理的大鼠中ADC显著更大，表明肺泡扩张。尽管这些大鼠临床上无症状，但传统组织学证实存在损伤。我们的结果表明，超极化³He ADC的测量可以是一种有价值的研究工具，并且在临床环境中有潜在应用。
