Abstract #2058

Intraportal Islet Transplantation Assessed by Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Nathaniel Chan¹, Naoaki Sakata¹, Eba Hathout¹, Andre Obenaus²

¹Islet Transplant Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA; ²Radiation Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA

Successful vascularization plays an important role in long-term viability and function of pancreatic islet grafts after transplantation. Dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI has been successfully used to assess vascularization in tumors. However, in vivo imaging and determination of intraportal islet-specific hemodynamic parameters has not been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of DCE MRI for assessment of vascularization of islet transplantation in the liver. The data show that DCE can provide a non-invasive assessment of angiogenesis following islet transplantation and can provide the basis for future clinical assessments of islet vascularization.