Live nephron imaging by MRI.

Live nephron imaging by MRI. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2014 Sep 3; Authors: Qian C, Yu X, Pothayee N, Dodd S, Bouraoud N, Star RA, Bennett KM, Koretsky A Abstract The local sensitivity of MRI can be improved with small MR detectors placed close to regions of interest. But in order to maintain such sensitivity advantage, local detectors normally need to communicate with the external amplifier through cable connections, which prevent the use of local detectors as implantable devices. Recently, an integrated wireless amplifier was developed that can efficiently amplify and broadcast locally detected signals, so that the local sensitivity was enhanced without the need for cable connections. This integrated detector enabled the live imaging of individual glomeruli using negative contrast introduced by cationized ferritin, and the live imaging of renal tubules using positive contrast introduced by Gd(DTPA). Here, we utilized the high blood flow to image individual glomeruli as hyper intense regions without any contrast agent. These hyper intense regions were identified for pixels with signal intensities higher than the local average. Addition of Mn(2+) allowed the simultaneous detection of both glomeruli and renal tubules: Mn(2+) was primarily reabsorbed by renal tubules, which would be distinguished from glomeruli due to higher enhancement in T1-weighted MRI. Dynamic studies of Mn(2+) absorption confirmed the differential absorption aff...
Source: Am J Physiol Renal P... - Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Renal Physiol Source Type: research