Purpose: To assess the feasibility of a 7 Tesla (T) MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) protocol to image the morphology and detect and intraindividually monitor pathological changes of the biliopancreatic tract in a mouse model of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
Materials and methods: Six female Mdr2(Abcb)(-/-) mice, a well-established model of PSC, were imaged five times during weeks 10-19. Three wild-type controls were imaged at age 15 weeks. MRCP acquisition with three-dimensional fast recovery fast spin echo sequences (3D-FRFSE) was performed using three sequences with different resolutions, repetition times (TR), and with/without respiration-gating in a 7 T preclinical MRI system. Image quality and visualization of five biliopancreatic structures were evaluated by three independent readers.
Results: Image quality was rated diagnostically sufficient in 86% of the datasets acquired without gating and in 100% for the respiration-gated sequences. Intrahepatic ducts were well visualized (≥ 97%) in Mdr2(-/-) mice. Stenoses and dilatations of the biliary ducts were intraindividually monitored. Progression and regression of bile duct pathologies were sufficiently assessed during the observation time.
Conclusion: High-quality respiration-gated MRCP of the Mdr2(-/-) PSC model at 7 T allows for in vivo imaging of murine biliopancreatic tract and monitoring of bile duct pathologies, permitting longitudinal intraindividual studies in murine models of inflammatory bile duct diseases.
Keywords: 7T; MRCP; PSC; bile duct; cholangiography; mouse.
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.