Monitoring the development of hepatocellular carci

Authors: E J McKenzie M Jackson J Sun V Volotovskyy Marco LH Gruwel

Publish Date: 2005/08/29

Volume: 18, Issue: 4, Pages: 201-205

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Abstract

The woodchuck is one of the only lab animal models of chronic viral hepatitis infection and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma Using this model changes in tissue energetics in the liver due to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma can be monitored by repeated magnetic resonance imaging and localized phosphorus spectroscopy Age and sexmatched control n=5 and chronically infected n=5 adult woodchucks were imaged four times in a sixmonth period in a 7T horizontalbore magnet Using a custombuilt doubly tunable quadrature volume coil sagittal and axial FLASH images 128×128 slice thickness = 5 mm TR/TE=1000/41 8 averages were acquired to locate the largest portion of the liver with the least amount of signal contamination from surrounding abdominal muscle Twodimensional 31P chemicalshift imaging 2DCSI was acquired 16×16 data matrix 24×24×2 cm3 1024 data points 16 averages for all animals The extent of liver injury was determined using serum gamma glutamyltransferase GGT The livers of infected woodchucks showed a significant increase p=001 in phosphomonoesters PMEβadenosine triphosphate NTP Chronically infected woodchucks had higher levels of serum GGT compared to uninfected woodchucks p=0002 An increase in the PMEβNTP ratio indicates cellular proliferation within the malignant tumor

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