Haja-Sherief N Musthafa1, Galina Dragneva1, Line Lottonen1, Mari Merentie1, Lyubomir Petrov1, 2, Tommi Heikura1, 2, Elias Yl-Herttuala1, Seppo Yl-Herttuala1, Olli Grhn1, Timo Liimatainen1
1AI Virtanen Institute For Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; 2Ark Therapeutics Ltd., Kuopio, Finland
In this study, we measured T1ρ relaxation times in mouse myocardium before and 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. T1ρ was found to increase in infarcted myocardium when compared to the reference myocardium of the same heart. Infarctions were confirmed by cine MRI and histology staining. The increase in T1ρ fits well with the time course of granulation and scar tissue formations opening up the possibilities to follow up the responses of therapeutic agents.