S. Aureus Abscess Development in a Murine Model Measured Using MR Relaxometry and Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Michael Douglas Boska¹, Mariano Uberti¹, Amy Aldrich², Erin McIntyre¹, Tammy Kielian²

This murine model of bacterial brain abscess has been used extensively for studying the molecular and cellular events accompanying disease progression. This work extends prior studies by using quantitative MRI to characterize lesion development. Initial results demonstrate high T₁ three days after infection in both the lesion and the surrounding tissue shown to be composed of activated macrophages/microglia. Day 7 shows the initial formation of the abscess wall as an area of low T₁ and high FA which progresses to a more organized lesion and wall, reflected as decreasing T₁, decreasing D_av, and increasing FA.