Molecular MRI reveals atherosclerotic plaque fibrogenesis and stabilization in ApoE-/- mice with steatotic liver disease
Motivation: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but identifying at-risk patients and evaluating therapeutic response remains challenging. Goal(s): We aimed to develop a fibrogenesis (active fibrosis) targeted molecular MRI protocol to detect hepatic and atherosclerotic disease activity. Approach: ApoE-/- mice were fed a high-cholesterol diet inducing atherosclerosis or low-cholesterol choline-deficient high-fat diet generating hepatic steatosis and fibrosis. In vivo MRI included inversion recovery sequences before/after administration of a fibrogenesis-targeted probe (Gd-1,4). Results: Hepatic Gd-1,4 R1-mapping depicted significant liver fibrogenesis during MASLD progression in mice, while aortic R1 changes reflected atherosclerotic plaque stabilization. Impact: An innovative fibrogenesis-targeted molecular MR probe revealed that reducing cholesterol resulted in atherosclerotic plaque stabilization even in a high-risk metabolic milieu of steatotic liver disease.
Authors
- David E. Sosnovik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6486-7434)
- Brianna F. Moon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0642-0551)
- Pamela Pantazopoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1648-2796)
- Mariane Le Fur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8680-0903)
- Yoshiko Iwamoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3723-1043)
- Peter Caravan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3179-6537)
- Kathleen E. Corey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2882-7264)
- Yin-Ching Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9916-2207)
- Hua Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7966-6862)
- David Rohde (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3785-9375)
- Jonah Weigand‐Whittier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6647-9769)
- Christian T. Farrar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6623-8220)
- Nicholas J. Rotile (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6568-9927)
- Matthias Nahrendorf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4021-1887)
- Iris Y. Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4351-7398)
- Yingying Ning (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2942-2202)
- Eman A. Akam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2544-5762)
- Jesse D. Roberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0271-275X)
- Chunxiang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4973-2363)
- Matthew Tyros
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition
- Published
- 2025-09-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.58530/2025/3063
- Primary Topic
- Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00