High‐resolution MRI with cardiac and respiratory gating allows for accurate in vivo atherosclerotic plaque visualization in the murine aortic arch

Genetically engineered mouse models provide enormous potential for investigation of the underlying mechanisms of atherosclerotic disease, but noninvasive imaging methods for analysis of atherosclerosis in mice are currently limited. This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of MRI to noninvasively visualize atherosclerotic plaques in the thoracic aorta in mice deficient in apolipoprotein‐E, who develop atherosclerotic lesions similar to those observed in humans. To freeze motion, MR data acquisition was both ECG‐ and respiratory‐gated. T1‐weighted MR images were acquired with TR/TE ∼1000/10 ms. Spatial image resolution was 49 × 98 × 300 μm3. MRI revealed a detailed view of the lumen and the vessel wall of the entire thoracic aorta. Comparison of MRI with corresponding cross‐sectional histopathology showed excellent agreement of aortic vessel wall area (r = 0.97). Hence, noninvasive MRI should allow new insights into the mechanisms involved in progression and regression of atherosclerotic disease. Magn Reson Med 50:69–74, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

[1]  A Haase,et al.  Developmental changes of cardiac function and mass assessed with MRI in neonatal, juvenile, and adult mice. , 2000, American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology.

[2]  Zahi A Fayad,et al.  Atherosclerotic lesions in genetically modified mice quantified in vivo by non-invasive high-resolution magnetic resonance microscopy. , 2002, Atherosclerosis.

[3]  R. Walsh,et al.  In vivo echocardiographic detection of enhanced left ventricular function in gene-targeted mice with phospholamban deficiency. , 1995, Circulation research.

[4]  E A Fisher,et al.  Noninvasive In vivo high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of atherosclerotic lesions in genetically engineered mice. , 1998, Circulation.

[5]  W J Manning,et al.  In vivo assessment of LV mass in mice using high-frequency cardiac ultrasound: necropsy validation. , 1994, The American journal of physiology.

[6]  R. Ross,et al.  ApoE-deficient mice develop lesions of all phases of atherosclerosis throughout the arterial tree. , 1994, Arteriosclerosis and thrombosis : a journal of vascular biology.

[7]  C. Sigmund,et al.  Vascular biology in genetically altered mice : smaller vessels, bigger insight. , 1999, Circulation research.

[8]  W. Gilson,et al.  Noninvasive in vivo magnetic resonance imaging of injury‐induced neointima formation in the carotid artery of the apolipoprotein‐E null mouse , 2000, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[9]  Stefan Neubauer,et al.  Magnetic resonance microimaging for noninvasive quantification of myocardial function and mass in the mouse , 1998, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[10]  Donald S. Williams,et al.  Cardiac MRI of the normal and hypertrophied mouse heart , 1998, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[11]  Graham J. Galloway,et al.  Repeated Three-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Atherosclerosis Development in Innominate Arteries of Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Knockout Mice , 2002, Circulation.

[12]  K. Chien,et al.  Genes and physiology: molecular physiology in genetically engineered animals. , 1996, The Journal of clinical investigation.

[13]  A. Koretsky,et al.  Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Transgenic Mice With Cardiac-Specific Overexpression of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α , 1997 .

[14]  Martin J. Lohse,et al.  Dobutamine-Stress Magnetic Resonance Microimaging in Mice: Acute Changes of Cardiac Geometry and Function in Normal and Failing Murine Hearts , 2001, Circulation research.