Abstract #1347

Cofer G, Pollaro J, Walker J, Johnson G, Driehuys B, Schwartz D

The study of asthma increasingly relies on transgenic and knock-out mouse models to elucidate the fundamental underpinnings of this disease. Currently, only global measurements of airway pressure before and after methacholine challenge are the primary tool available, leaving fundamental questions unanswered, such as the degree of small versus large airway involvement, whether the site of broncho-constriction is reproducible, and the degree to which mouse models reproduce human disease. Here, we present the first observation of methacholine challenge in mice using a 5 minute scan consuming 100ml of hyperpolarized 3He.