Luke Xie1, 2, Wei Li3, Matthew Sparks4, Yi Qi2, Gary P. Cofer2, Thomas Coffman4, G. A. Johnson, 12, Chunlei Liu, 23
1Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 2Center for in vivo Microscopy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; 3Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; 4Nephrology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States
This study utilizes the first renal susceptibility imaging on altered kidneys in mice lacking angiotensin II receptor AT1A or both AT1A and AT1B receptors. Kidneys were imaged using a GRE sequence at 9.4 T and susceptibility values were measured in cortex, outer medulla, and inner medulla for comparison in wild type (WT), AT1a -/- (A), and AT1a -/- AT1b -/- (AB) mice. AB kidneys exhibited interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, and arterial thickening, which changed the spatial distribution of paramagnetic contrast for magnetic susceptibility. AB kidneys exhibited low contrast regions/vessels, higher susceptibility, and broader distribution compared to WT or A kidneys.