Magnetic resonance imaging of changes in muscle tissues after membrane trauma.
A pure electroporation injury leads to cell membrane disruption and subsequent osmotic swelling of the tissue. The state of water in the injured area of a tissue is changed and differs from a healthy tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is very sensitive to the quality of the interaction between mobile (water) protons and a restricted (protein) proton pool, is therefore a useful tool to characterize this injury. Here, we present a protocol designed to measure the difference between the values of the transverse magnetic relaxation time (T2) in MRIs of healthy and electrically injured tissue. In addition, we present a method to evaluate the two main contributions to the MRI contrast, the degree of structural alteration of the cellular components (including a major contribution from membrane pores), and edema. The approach is useful in assessing the level of damage that electric shocks produce in muscle tissues, in that edema will resolve in time whereas structural changes require active repair mechanisms.
Electrical Trauma Research Program, Department of Surgery, MC 6035, The University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Hanne
H
Gissel
Florin
F
Despa
John
J
Collins
Devkumar
D
Mustafi
Katherine
K
Rojahn
Greg
G
Karczmar
Raphael
R
Lee
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018274:Electroporation; D005260:Female; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D014867:Water