Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging of experimental chronic kidney disease: A quantitative correlation study with histology

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 7; p. e0200259
• Main Authors: Schley, Gunnar, Jordan, Jutta, Ellmann, Stephan, Rosen, Seymour, Eckardt, Kai-Uwe, Uder, Michael, Willam, Carsten, Bäuerle, Tobias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 16.07.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adenine; Animals; Anisotropy; Biology and Life Sciences; Biopsy; Capillaries; Care and treatment; Chronic kidney failure; Correlation analysis; Diagnosis; Diffusion; Diffusion coefficient; Disease Models, Animal; Fibrosis; Fibrosis - diagnostic imaging; Fibrosis - pathology; Fixation; Histology; Hospitals; Hypertension; Inflammation; Kidney - diagnostic imaging; Kidney - pathology; Kidney diseases; Kidneys; Laboratory animals; Magnetic resonance; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medical imaging; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mice; Microvasculature; Nephrology; Nephropathy; Neuroimaging; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Parameters; Physical Sciences; Rarefaction; Relaxation time; Renal cortex; Renal function; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic - diagnostic imaging; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic - pathology; Research and Analysis Methods; Resonance; Rodents; Studies; Transplants & implants; Tubules; Germany; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200259

In human chronic kidney disease (CKD) the extent of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis correlates with progressive loss of renal function. However, fibrosis can so far only be assessed by histology of kidney biopsies. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide information about tissue architecture, but its potential to assess fibrosis and inflammation in diseased kidneys remains poorly defined. We evaluated excised kidneys in a murine adenine-induced nephropathy model for CKD by MRI and correlated quantitative MRI parameters (T1, T2, and T2* relaxation times, apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional anisotropy) with histological hallmarks of progressive CKD, including renal fibrosis, inflammation, and microvascular rarefaction. Furthermore, we analyzed the effects of paraformaldehyde fixation on MRI parameters by comparing kidney samples before and after fixation with paraformaldehyde. In diseased kidneys T2 and T2* relaxation times, apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional anisotropy in the renal cortex and/or outer medulla were significantly different from those in control kidneys. In particular, T2 relaxation time was the best parameter to distinguish control and CKD groups and correlated very well with the extent of fibrosis, inflammatory infiltrates, tubular dilation, crystal deposition, and loss of peritubular capillaries and normal tubules in the renal cortex and outer medulla. Fixation with paraformaldehyde had no impact on T2 relaxation time and fractional anisotropy, whereas T1 times significantly decreased and T2* times and apparent diffusion coefficients increased in fixed kidney tissue. MRI parameters provide a promising approach to quantitatively assess renal fibrosis and inflammation in CKD. Especially T2 relaxation time correlates well with histological features of CKD and is not influenced by paraformaldehyde fixation of kidney samples. Thus, T2 relaxation time might be a candidate parameter for non-invasive assessment of renal fibrosis in human patients.