Abstract #0352
Bioenergetics Measured by In Vivo 31P MRSI in hind limb muscles correlates with functional performance before and after stem cell treatment in a mouse model of peripheral vascular disease
Schroeder B, Luttun A, Du F, Zhang Y, Chen W, McCue J, Zhang X, Seaborn M, Verfaillie C, Zhu X
Stem Cell Institute, University
Continuous and objective monitoring of the effect of (stem cell) therapy in trials with patients suffering from peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is a challenge. A limb ischemia mouse model was used to test in vivo 31P MRS combined with MRI as a non-invasive technique to evaluate functional benefits of stem cell transplantation. Functional assessment of muscles was scored by a swim test. The bioenergetic changes measured by MRS in ischemic hind limb muscles spatially correlated with the ischemic energy status of the muscle, temporally correlated with functional muscle performance and successful stem cell engraftment reflecting functional improvement upon stem cell transplantation. Therefore, MRS/MRI could be useful to monitor the effect of (stem cell) treatments in patients.
