Purpose: We evaluated concanavalin A (Con A)-induced acute hepatic injury in rats using an empirical mathematical model (EMM) and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) with gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA).
Materials and Methods: We allocated 18 rats into 3 groups of six each and intravenously injected them with either 10 mg/kg body weight (BW) of Con A (Con A [10] group), 20 mg/kg BW of Con A (Con A [20] group), or a single dose of of saline (4 mL/kg BW, normal control group). We performed the DCE-MRI studies using Gd-EOB-DTPA (0.025 mmol Gd/kg; 0.1 mL/kg BW) as the contrast agent 24 hours after injection of Con A or saline. We then sampled blood, measured serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and calculated the rate of contrast uptake (α), rate of contrast washout (β), area under the curve (
AUC), time to maximum relative enhancement (
RE) (
Tmax), and elimination half-life of
RE (
T1/2) from the time-signal intensity curves using the EMM.
Results: β values were significantly smaller in the Con A (10) and Con A (20) groups than the control group, but α did not differ significantly among the 3 groups. The
AUC value was significantly greater in the Con A (10) group than controls, and the
Tmax and
T1/2 values were significantly greater in the Con A (20) group than controls. The β,
Tmax, and
T1/2 values correlated significantly with AST and ALT.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the EMM is useful for evaluating Con A-induced acute hepatic injury using DCE-MRI with Gd-EOB-DTPA.
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