title: Water household of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio, when submitted to an osmotic challenge, as determined by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging at 7 T.
abstract: In vivo diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine the effects of an osmotic challenge (1% NaCl) to a freshwater fish, the common carp (Cyprinus carpio). The imaged region covered organs such as the swimbladder, the liver, the kidney, the intestine, the spinal cord, and muscle tissue. A striking difference between salt-treated and control fish was found in the liver. The apparent diffusion coefficient value of livers from control fish was (0.39 +/- 0.16) 10(-9) m2/s and of salt-treated fish was (1.23 +/- 0.14) 10(-9) m2/s, which points to an increase in extracellular water content. These results were partially confirmed by a decrease in dry/wet weight ratio of the liver tissue. We also found increased levels of stress proteins in liver tissue. The Q factor of the applied radiofrequency coil dropped dramatically when we performed experiments with salt-exposed fish, indicating an increased conductivity resulting from the increased ion concentration and osmolarity of the fish. The data on plasma osmolarity of salt-exposed fish confirm a significant osmolarity increase upon salt exposure (from 334 to 430 mOsm/kg) and exceeded the osmolarity of the salt water (324 mOsm/kg), indicating that carp tend to cope with an increased salinity by increasing the internal osmolarity (hyperosmotic regulation). These data demonstrate that diffusion-weighted MRI might be a useful and noninvasive tool in the study of osmotic challenges of aquatic organisms.
authors.affiliation: Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp (RUCA), Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Boeck
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vanaudenhove
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verhoye
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Audekerke
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Wachter
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Blust
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van der Linden
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism*; D002347:Carps / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance
chemical_list: D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic