Zdravka Medarova1, Zeynep Onder1,
Marytheresa Ifediba1, Dale Greiner2, Guangping Dai1,
Gerrardo Castillo3, Elijah Bolotin3, Anna Moore1
1Molecular Imaging Lab, Athinoula A.
Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States; 2Department
of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA,
United States; 3PharmaIN, Ltd, Seattle, WA, United States
Vascular
changes are commonly associated with many pathologies, including, cancer,
arthritis, and diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, autoimmune lymphocytic
infiltration progresses over many years, culminating in the destruction of a
critical mass of insulin-producing beta-cells, and ultimately, in
hyperglycemia and metabolic dysregulation. Vascular parameters, such as
vascular volume, flow, and permeability are an important disease biomarker.
It is important to monitor the dynamics of pancreatic microvasculature
noninvasively. Here, we describe the application of the long-circulating,
paramagnetic T1 contrast agent, PGC-GdDTPA-F for the noninvasive evaluation
of vascular changes in a rat model of type 1 diabetes.
Keywords