In Vivo Monitoring of Renal Tubule Volume Fraction During Acute Tubular Pressure Increase Using Dynamic T2 Mapping

Motivation: The increasing incidence of kidney diseases is a global concern and current biomarkers are inadequate. Changes in renal tubule volume fraction (TVF) may serve as a rapid biomarker for kidney disease and provide a better understanding of renal (patho-)physiology. Goal(s): This study aims to measure TVF in in vivo rat kidney during acute tubular pressure increase. Approach: This study uses the amplitude of the long T2-component as a surrogate for TVF in rats, by applying multiexponential analysis of the T2-driven signal decay. Results: The results demonstrate that our approach is promising for research into quantitative assessment of renal TVF in in vivo applications. Impact: This is the first report on in vivo assessment of relative changes in the renal TVF, which provides a potential rapid, noninvasive marker for kidney disease. This approach will be invaluable for gaining a better mechanistic understanding of renal (patho-)physiology.