Oxygen-17 MRS for CMRO2 Measurements in the Mouse Brain at 16.4T

Weina Cui¹, Xiao-Hong Zhu¹, Manda Vollmers¹, Emily Colonna¹, Gregor Adriany¹, Brandon Tramm², Janet Dubinsky¹, Gulin Oz¹

To assess cerebral energetics in transgenic mouse models of neurological disease, a robust and quick method for quantification of cerebral oxygen consumption is needed. ¹⁷O MRS methodology has been validated in rats and cats to measure CMRO₂, however mice present unique challenges due to their small size. We show that ¹⁷O MRS in the mouse brain is feasible with high sensitivity using 16.4T, a surface ¹H/¹⁷O coil and a newly designed oxygen delivery system. The method can be utilized to measure mitochondrial function in mice quickly and repeatedly, without oral intubation, and has numerous potential applications to study cerebral energetics.