Non Invasive Assessment of Plaque Progression in ApoE-/- Mice Using T2* Weighted and Positive Contrast SGM-MRI

Marcus R. Makowski¹, Gopal Varma, Christian Jansen, Andrea J. Wiethoff, Tobias Schaeffter, Mathias Taupitz², Rene M. Botnar

Macrophages have been identified as a contributor to plaque instability in atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to noninvasively assess iron oxide uptake at different stages of plaque development in the innominate artery of apoE-/- mice and to evaluate the effect of anti-inflammatory treatment using T2* weighted and positive contrast susceptibility gradient mapping (SGM) MRI. Molecular alterations in plaque composition with regard to macrophage content could be detected using iron oxide particles in combination with T2* weighted and SGM MRI. Anti-inflammatory treatment with statins resulted in a smaller SGM signal and smaller signal voids on T2* weighted images.