Chaabane Linda, Soulas Emmanuelle Canet, Contard Francis, Salah Aly, Guerrier Daniel, Briguet André, Douek Philippe
Laboratoire de RMN, UMR 5012 CNRS, UCB-CPE, Lyon, France.
Invest Radiol. 2003 Aug;38(8):532-8. doi: 10.1097/01.rli.0000067491.31978.1c.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential of high-resolution MRI at 2 Tesla (T) for direct noninvasive imaging of the aortic wall in a mouse model of atherosclerosis.
A specific mouse antenna was developed and sequence parameters were adjusted. T(1)- and T2-weighted images of abdominal aorta were obtained at 2 T with a spatial resolution of 86 x 86 x 800 microm3 in vivo. With a dedicated small coil, ex vivo MRI of the aorta was performed with a spatial resolution of 54 x 54 x 520 microm3.
In vivo, the aortic wall was clearly defined on T(2)-weighted images in 15 of 16 mice: along the aorta the lumen circumference ranged from 1.07 to 3.61 mm and mean wall thickness from 0.11 to 0.67 mm. In vivo measurements of plaque distribution were confirmed by ex vivo MR imaging and by histology, with a good correlation with histology regarding lumen circumference (r = 0.94) and wall thickness (r = 0.97).
Magnetic resonance imaging at 2 T to analyze in vivo atherosclerotic lesions in mice is possible with a spatial resolution of 86 x 86 x 800 microm3 and thus can be used for noninvasive follow-up in evaluation of new drugs.
本研究的目的是评估2特斯拉（T）高分辨率磁共振成像（MRI）在动脉粥样硬化小鼠模型中对主动脉壁进行直接无创成像的潜力。
研发了一种特定的小鼠天线并调整了序列参数。在2T条件下，对腹部主动脉进行T1加权和T2加权成像，体内空间分辨率为86×86×800立方微米。使用专用小线圈对主动脉进行离体MRI检查，空间分辨率为54×54×520立方微米。
在体内，16只小鼠中有15只在T2加权图像上主动脉壁清晰可辨：沿主动脉，管腔周长为1.07至3.61毫米，平均壁厚度为0.11至0.67毫米。体内斑块分布测量结果经离体MR成像和组织学证实，管腔周长（r = 0.94）和壁厚度（r = 0.97）与组织学有良好的相关性。
2T磁共振成像能够以86×86×800立方微米的空间分辨率分析小鼠体内动脉粥样硬化病变，因此可用于新药评估的无创随访。
