MRI Assessment of Temporal Soft Tissue and Bone Changes in Murine Collagen-Induced Arthritis

Andreas Pohlmann^1,2, Victor Musoko², Olga Woolmer³, Alison Robinson³, Jackie Buckton⁴, Anthony R. Hobson⁴, Michael F. James²

In murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) visual scoring of arthritic changes in the paws is commonly used to assess disease severity and therapeutic efficacy. We developed quantitative in vivo MRI of hindpaw changes and studied the temporal progression of CIA. Analysis of contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI yielded volumes of enhancing tissue, soft tissue, and bone, which were directly compared with conventional scoring procedures. Significant increases with time in all measures were observed, except for bone, which only showed weak trends towards degradation. MRI may offer an objective and quantitative alternative to conventional biomarkers in CIA.