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Abstract #3882

Phase Contrast MR Imaging to Image Bacterial Translocation in a Mouse Model for Graft Versus Host Disease

Wilfried Reichardt1, 2, Nicoleta Baxan2, 3, Robert Zeiser4, Franziska Leonhardt4, 5, Dominik von Elverfeldt2

1Deutsches Konsortium fr translationale Krebsforschung (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany; 2Department of Radiology Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; 3Bruker BioSpin MRI GmBH, Ettlingen, Germany; 4Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; 5Department of Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University-Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany


The aim of this work was using phase contrast MR imaging for the in vivo tracking of bacteria in vivo after total body irradiation (TBI) using SPIO-tagging of bacteria and highly sensitive phase contrast MRI. SPIO+E. coli were injected into the rectum of mice that had received TBI or no treatment. The signals from SPIO+ E. coli creating a dipole-shaped pattern were clearly visible in the tissue surrounding the intestinal wall. SPIO+E. coli were seen significantly more frequently in mice that had received TBI as compared to the untreated group indicating that TBI enhanced transmigration of bacteria through the epithelial layer of the intestinal wall.