title: Pathological and MR-DWI study of the acute hepatic injury model after stem cell transplantation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values as an indication of reconditioning of acute hepatic injury (AHI) after allogeneic mononuclear bone marrow cell (MBMC) transplantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three groups were used in our study: a cell transplantation group (n = 21), transplantation control group (n = 21) and normal control group (n = 10). AHI model rabbits in the cell transplantation group were injected with 5 mL of MBMC suspension at multiple sites in the liver and the transplantation controls were injected with 5 mL D-Hanks solution. At the end of the 1st, 2nd and 4th wk, 7 rabbits were randomly selected from the cell transplantation group and transplantation control group for magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (MR-DWI) and measurement of the mean ADC values of injured livers. After MR-DWI examination, the rabbits were sacrificed and the livers subjected to pathological examination. Ten healthy rabbits from the normal control group were used for MR-DWI examination and measurement of the mean ADC value of normal liver.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At all time points, the liver pathological scores from the cell transplantation group were significantly lower than those in the transplantation control group (27.14 ± 1.46 vs 69.29 ± 6.16, 22.29 ± 2.29 vs 57.00 ± 1.53, 19.00 ± 2.31 vs 51.86 ± 6.04, P = 0.000). The mean ADC values of the cell transplantation group were significantly higher than the transplantation control group ((1.07 ± 0.07) × 10⁻³ mm²/s vs (0.69 ± 0.05) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, (1.41 ± 0.04) × 10⁻³ mm²/s vs (0.84 ± 0.06) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, (1.68 ± 0.04) × 10⁻³ mm²/s vs (0.86 ± 0.04) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, P = 0.000). The pathological scores of the cell transplantation group and transplantation control group gradually decreased. However, their mean ADC values gradually increased to near that of the normal control. At the end of the 1st wk, the mean ADC values of the cell transplantation group and transplantation control group were significantly lower than those of the normal control group [(1.07 ± 0.07) × 10⁻³ mm²/s vs (1.76 ± 0.03) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, (0.69 ± 0.05) × 10⁻³ mm²/s vs (1.76 ± 0.03) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, P = 0.000]. At any 2 time points, the pathological scores and the mean ADC values of the cell transplantation group were significantly different (P = 0.000). At the end of the 1st wk, the pathological scores and the mean ADC values of the transplantation control group were significantly different from those at the end of the 2nd and 4th wk (P = 0.000). However, there was no significant difference between the 2nd and 4th wk (P = 0.073 and 0.473, respectively). The coefficient of correlation between the pathological score and the mean ADC value in the cell transplantation group was -0.883 (P = 0.000) and -0.762 (P = 0.000) in the transplantation control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tracking the longitudinally dynamic change in the mean ADC value of the AHI liver may reflect hepatic injury reconditioning after allogeneic MBMC transplantation.
authors: Quan-Liang Shang, En-Hua Xiao, Jian-Guang Luo, Hai-Jun Wu, Department of Radiology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan Province, China.
authors: Quan-Liang
authors: QL
authors: Shang
authors: En-Hua
authors: EH
authors: Xiao
authors: Qi-Chang
authors: QC
authors: Zhou
authors: Jian-Guang
authors: JG
authors: Luo
authors: Hai-Jun
authors: HJ
authors: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008099:Liver / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D011817:Rabbits; D011897:Random Allocation; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation