Nathaniel Chan1, Naoaki Sakata1, Eba Hathout1, Andre Obenaus2
1Islet Transplant Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA; 2Radiation Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA
Successful vascularization plays an important role in long-term viability and function of pancreatic islet grafts after transplantation. Dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI has been successfully used to assess vascularization in tumors. However, in vivo imaging and determination of intraportal islet-specific hemodynamic parameters has not been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of DCE MRI for assessment of vascularization of islet transplantation in the liver. The data show that DCE can provide a non-invasive assessment of angiogenesis following islet transplantation and can provide the basis for future clinical assessments of islet vascularization.