Orthotopic rat lung transplantation is a well-established animal model used for elucidating the mechanics of lung transplant surgery. However, most lung function assessment is conducted via invasive techniques. In this study, we demonstrated that hyperpolarized pyruvate MRI can be used to generate metabolic biomarkers that can be used for non-invasive lung function assessment after transplantation. In successful syngeneic lung transplants, the lactate-to-pyruvate ratio remains low in both lungs after transplant. However, in allogeneic or failed syngeneic lung transplantation, the native lung returns to baseline one week after surgery, whereas the transplanted lung shows a significant(~3-fold) increase in the lactate-to-pyruvate ratio.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.