High-field magnetic resonance microscopy of aortic plaques in a mouse model of atherosclerosis

• Published in: Magma (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2023-12, Vol.36 (6), p.887-896
• Main Authors: Castro, Rita, Gullette, Sean, Whalen, Courtney, Mattie, Floyd J., Ge, Ximing, Ross, A. Catharine, Neuberger, Thomas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Aorta - diagnostic imaging; Atherosclerosis - diagnostic imaging; Basic Science - Cardio-vascular; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Computer Appl. in Life Sciences; flow and angiographic imaging techniques; Health Informatics; Humans; Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mice; Microscopy; Plaque, Atherosclerotic - diagnostic imaging; Radiology; Research Article; Solid State Physics
• ISSN: 1352-8661; 1352-8661
• DOI: 10.1007/s10334-023-01102-1

Objectives Pre-clinical models of human atherosclerosis are extensively used; however, traditional histological methods do not allow for a holistic view of vascular lesions. We describe an ex-vivo, high-resolution MRI method that allows the 3 dimensional imaging of the vessel for aortic plaque visualization and quantification. Materials and methods Aortas from apolipoprotein-E-deficient ( apoE −/− ) mice fed an atherogenic diet (group 1) or a control diet (group 2) were subjected to 14 T MR imaging using a 3D gradient echo sequence. The obtained data sets were reconstructed (Matlab), segmented, and analyzed (Avizo). The aortas were further sectioned and subjected to traditional histological analysis (Oil-Red O and hematoxylin staining) for comparison. Results A resolution up to 15 × 10x10 μm 3 revealed that plaque burden (mm 3 ) was significantly ( p