Hirohiko Imai1,2, Atsuomi Kimura2,
Takuya Kitao2, Emi Okubo2, Yuki Hori2,
Satoshi Iguchi2, Hideaki Fujiwara2
1Center for Advanced Research and Education
in Drug Discovery and Development, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan; 2Department of
Medical Physics and Engineering, Division of Health Sciences, Graduate School
of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
Several
techniques in hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI and MRS were applied to
spontaneously breathing mice for comprehensively evaluating pulmonary
structures and functions in emphysematous mice. The abnormalities of
pulmonary structure, perfusion and ventilation were successfully detected in
emphysematous mice, while significant difference was not shown in gas
exchange. Although further improvement was needed for evaluating gas exchange
in spontaneous breathing condition, it was shown that the method described
here could become useful for drug research and development using small
rodents since this protocol was able to detect several important pathological
changes non-invasively.