title: A Quantitative Study of Airway Changes on Micro-CT in a Mouse Asthma Model: Comparison With Histopathological Findings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate airway changes in ovalbumin-induced asthmatic mice in terms of postmortem micro-CT images and pathological findings.
  
  
  METHODS
  Asthma was induced in mice by intraperitoneal injection and nasal instillation of ovalbumin aluminium hydroxide into mice (experimental group, n=6), and another group of mice received intraperitoneal injection and nasal instillation of distilled phosphate-buffered saline (control group, n=6). Bronchial lumen area was measured in the main bronchial lumen of the distal third bronchial branch level (6 parts per each mouse) on axial scans of Micro-CT, using a Lucion's smart pen (semi-automated) and a curve pen (manual). Bronchial wall thickness was obtained in 4 sections (2 levels on either side) after the third bronchial branch by measuring the diameter which was perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the main bronchus on curved Multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) images. Histologic slides were obtained from the lesion that was matched with its CT images, and bronchial wall thicknesses were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean bronchial lumen area was 0.196±0.072 mm(2) in the experimental group and 0.243±0.116 mm(2) in the control group; the difference was significant. Bronchial wall thickness on micro-CT images (mean, 0.119±0.01 vs. 0.108±0.013 mm) and in pathological specimens (mean, 0.066±0.011 vs. 0.041±0.009 mm) were thicker in the experimental group than in the control group; bronchial wall thickness on micro-CT images correlated well with pathological thickness (for the experimental group, r=0.712; for the control group, r=0.46). The thick bronchial wall in the experimental group demonstrated submucosal hypertrophy along with goblet cell hyperplasia and smooth muscle hyperplasia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study suggest that asthma may induce thickening of bronchial wall and narrowing of the lumen area on micro-CT images and that these results may significantly correlate with pathological findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Kyung
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jai-Soung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Respiratory Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Choon-Sik
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Gong-Yong
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Jin
keywords: Bronchial asthma; airway remodeling; case comparison studies; histopathology; mice Laboratory; quantitative evaluation; x-ray Micro-CT scans