title: Evaluation of concanavalin A-induced acute liver injury in rats using an empirical mathematical model and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging with Gd-EOB-DTPA.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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).
  
  
  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) (T(max)), and elimination half-life of RE (T(1/2)) 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 T(max) and T(1/2) values were significantly greater in the Con A (20) group than controls. The β, T(max), and T(1/2) values correlated significantly with AST and ALT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, the EMM is useful for evaluating Con A-induced acute hepatic injury using DCE-MRI with Gd-EOB-DTPA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics and Engineering, Division of Medical Technology and Science, Faculty of Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 1-7 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: Shigeyoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Shuichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ogihara
authors.forename: Daichi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koto
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Motoko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishiura
authors.forename: Kenya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murase
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003208:Concanavalin A; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; C073590:gadolinium ethoxybenzyl DTPA; D003208:Concanavalin A; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA