MRI-based assessment of liver perfusion and hepatocyte injury in the murine model of acute hepatitis

Objective: To assess alterations in perfusion and liver function in the concanavalin A (ConA)-induced mouse model of acute liver failure (ALF) using two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based methods: dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) with Gd-EOB-DTPA contrast agent and arterial spin labelling (ASL). Materials and methods: BALB/c mice were studied using a 9.4 T MRI system. The IntraGateFLASHTM and FAIR-EPI pulse sequences were used for optimum mouse abdomen imaging. Results: The average perfusion values for the liver of the control and ConA group were equal to 245 ± 20 and 200 ± 32 ml/min/100 g (p = 0.008, respectively). DCE-MRI showed that the time to the peak of the image enhancement was 6.14 ± 1.07 min and 9.72 ± 1.69 min in the control and ConA group (p < 0.001, respectively), while the rate of the contrast wash-out in the control and ConA group was 0.037 ± 0.008 and 0.021 ± 0.008 min−1 (p = 0.004, respectively). These results were consistent with hepatocyte injury in the ConA-treated mice as confirmed by histopathological staining. Conclusions: Both the ASL and DCE-MRI techniques represent a reliable methodology to assess alterations in liver perfusion and hepatocyte integrity in murine hepatitis.