A novel deep learning method for large-scale analysis of bone marrow adiposity using UK Biobank Dixon MRI data.

Background: Bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) represents > 10% fat mass in healthy humans and can be measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the bone marrow fat fraction (BMFF). Human MRI studies have identified several diseases associated with BMFF but have been relatively small scale. Population-scale studies therefore have huge potential to reveal BMAT's true clinical relevance. The UK Biobank (UKBB) is undertaking MRI of 100,000 participants, providing the ideal opportunity for such advances. Objective: To establish deep learning for high-throughput multi-site BMFF analysis from UKBB MRI data. Materials and methods: We studied males and females aged 60-69. Bone marrow (BM) segmentation was automated using a new lightweight attention-based 3D U-Net convolutional neural network that improved segmentation of small structures from large volumetric data. Using manual segmentations from 61-64 subjects, the models were trained to segment four BM regions of interest: the spine (thoracic and lumbar vertebrae), femoral head, total hip and femoral diaphysis. Models were tested using a further 10-12 datasets per region and validated using datasets from 729 UKBB participants. BMFF was then quantified and pathophysiological characteristics assessed, including site- and sex-dependent differences and the relationships with age, BMI, bone mineral density, peripheral adiposity, and osteoporosis. Results: Model accuracy matched or exceeded that for conventional U-Nets, yielding Dice scores of 91.2% (spine), 94.5% (femoral head), 91.2% (total hip) and 86.6% (femoral diaphysis). One case of severe scoliosis prevented segmentation of the spine, while one case of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma prevented segmentation of the spine, femoral head and total hip because of T2 signal depletion; however, successful segmentation was not disrupted by any other pathophysiological variables. The resulting BMFF measurements confirmed expected relationships between BMFF and age, sex and bone density, and identified new site- and sex-specific characteristics. Conclusions: We have established a new deep learning method for accurate segmentation of small structures from large volumetric data, allowing high-throughput multi-site BMFF measurement in the UKBB. Our findings reveal new pathophysiological insights, highlighting the potential of BMFF as a novel clinical biomarker. Applying our method across the full UKBB cohort will help to reveal the impact of BMAT on human health and disease.

The serotonin transporter sustains human brown adipose tissue thermogenesis.

Activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in humans is a strategy to treat obesity and metabolic disease. Here we show that the serotonin transporter (SERT), encoded by SLC6A4, prevents serotonin-mediated suppression of human BAT function. RNA sequencing of human primary brown and white adipocytes shows that SLC6A4 is highly expressed in human, but not murine, brown adipocytes and BAT. Serotonin decreases uncoupled respiration and reduces uncoupling protein 1 via the 5-HT2B receptor. SERT inhibition by the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline prevents uptake of extracellular serotonin, thereby potentiating serotonin's suppressive effect on brown adipocytes. Furthermore, we see that sertraline reduces BAT activation in healthy volunteers, and SSRI-treated patients demonstrate no 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake by BAT at room temperature, unlike matched controls. Inhibition of BAT thermogenesis may contribute to SSRI-induced weight gain and metabolic dysfunction, and reducing peripheral serotonin action may be an approach to treat obesity and metabolic disease.

Contrast-enhanced CT predictors of lymph nodal metastasis in dogs with oral melanoma.

Canine oral melanoma (OM) has highly aggressive behavior, with frequent local metastasis. Computed tomography 3D volumetric analysis is an accurate predictor of lymph node (LN) metastasis of oral cancers in humans but whether this is true for dogs with OM is unknown. In this retrospective observational study, CT imaging was used to assess mandibular and retropharyngeal lymphocenter (LC) changes in dogs with nodal metastatic (n = 12) and non-metastatic (n = 10) OM, then these findings were compared with those of healthy control dogs (n = 11). Using commercial software (Analyze, Biomedical Imaging Resource), lymphocenters were defined as regions of interest. LC voxels, area (mm2 ), volume (mm3 ), and degree of attenuation (HU) were compared between groups. Mandibular lymphocenter (MLC) metastasis was present in 12 of 22 (54.5%) dogs; no dogs had confirmed retropharyngeal lymphocenter (RLC) metastasis. Mandibular lymphocenter volume was significantly different between positive and negative LCs (median 2221 and 1048 mm3 , respectively, P = 0.008), and between positive and control LCs (median 880 mm3 , P < 0.01). There was no evidence of a significant difference in voxel number or attenuation between groups. Mandibular lymphocenter volume moderately discriminated for metastatic status (AUC 0.754 [95% CI = 0.572-0.894, P = 0.02]), with a positive predictive value of 57.1% (95% CI = 0.389-0.754). Adjusting for patient weight did not improve discrimination (AUC = 0.659 (95% CI = 0.439-0.879, P = 0.13]). In conclusion, these findings suggest 3D CT volume measurement of MLC can predict nodal metastasis in dogs with OM and shows promise but further research, perhaps in combination with other modalities, is required to improve accuracy.

Retinal capillary microvessel morphology changes are associated with vascular damage and dysfunction in cerebral small vessel disease.

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is a cause of stroke and dementia. Retinal capillary microvessels revealed by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) are developmentally related to brain microvessels. We quantified retinal vessel density (VD) and branching complexity, investigating relationships with SVD lesions, white matter integrity on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) to CO2 in patients with minor stroke. We enrolled 123 patients (mean age 68.1 ± SD 9.9 years), 115 contributed retinal data. Right (R) and left (L) eyes are reported. After adjusting for age, eye disease, diabetes, blood pressure and image quality, lower VD remained associated with higher mean diffusivity (MD) (standardized ß; R -0.16 [95%CI -0.32 to -0.01]) and lower CVR (L 0.17 [0.03 to 0.31] and R 0.19 [0.02 to 0.36]) in normal appearing white matter (NAWM). Sparser branching remained associated with sub-visible white matter damage shown by higher MD (R -0.24 [-0.08 to -0.40]), lower fractional anisotropy (FA) (L 0.17 [0.01 to 0.33]), and lower CVR (R 0.20 [0.02 to 0.38]) in NAWM. OCTA-derived metrics provide evidence of microvessel abnormalities that may underpin SVD lesions in the brain.

DiCyc: GAN-based deformation invariant cross-domain information fusion for medical image synthesis.

Cycle-consistent generative adversarial network (CycleGAN) has been widely used for cross-domain medical image synthesis tasks particularly due to its ability to deal with unpaired data. However, most CycleGAN-based synthesis methods cannot achieve good alignment between the synthesized images and data from the source domain, even with additional image alignment losses. This is because the CycleGAN generator network can encode the relative deformations and noises associated to different domains. This can be detrimental for the downstream applications that rely on the synthesized images, such as generating pseudo-CT for PET-MR attenuation correction. In this paper, we present a deformation invariant cycle-consistency model that can filter out these domain-specific deformation. The deformation is globally parameterized by thin-plate-spline (TPS), and locally learned by modified deformable convolutional layers. Robustness to domain-specific deformations has been evaluated through experiments on multi-sequence brain MR data and multi-modality abdominal CT and MR data. Experiment results demonstrated that our method can achieve better alignment between the source and target data while maintaining superior image quality of signal compared to several state-of-the-art CycleGAN-based methods.

Macular vessel density, branching complexity and foveal avascular zone size in normal tension glaucoma.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between glaucoma severity and perifoveal vessel density (pfVD), branching complexity, and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) size in normal tension glaucoma (NTG). 31 patients with NTG washed out of glaucoma medications were subjected to tests including; intraocular pressure measurement; standard automated perimetry; optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurement of macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC), inner macular thickness (IMT) and circumpapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (cpRNFL); and OCT angiography measurement of pfVD, FAZ perimeter and multispectral fractal dimensions (MSFD). Eyes with more severe glaucoma had significantly thinner mGCC and cpRNFL and lower pfVD. MD decreased by 0.4 dB (95% CI 0.1 to 0.6 dB, P = 0.007) for every 1% decrease in pfVD. Lower MSFD was observed in eyes with lower pfVD and in patients with systemic hypertension. Multivariable analysis, accounting for age and OCTA quality, found lower pfVD remained significantly associated with thinner IMT, thinner mGCC and worse MD but not with MSFD. pfVD was reduced in NTG and was diminished in eyes with worse MD. Macular vessel branching complexity was not related to severity of visual field loss but was lower in patients with systemic hypertension.

Quantitative Parameters from OCT Angiography in Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy and in Those with Only Peripheral Retinopathy Compared with Control Participants.

Purpose: To describe the differences in a range of quantitative OCT angiography (OCTA) metrics across early stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR), providing robust effect estimates as well as sensitivity and specificity. Design: Cross-sectional study with population-based sampling. Participants: Four hundred forty-one eyes from 296 individuals: 328 control eyes (no diabetes mellitus [DM] and no DR), 55 eyes with DM and no DR, and 58 eyes with early nonproliferative DR. Methods: Multimodal retinal imaging included color fundus photography, color Optomap ultra-widefield imaging, and spectral-domain OCT (Spectralis OCT2; Heidelberg Engineering GmbH) with the OCTA module. All images were graded for the presence and severity of DR features. OCTA images were assessed manually for inclusion based on quality. Binary OCTA metrics were assessed after 3-dimensional projection artifact removal including from the nerve fiber layer vascular plexus, superficial vascular plexus (SVC), and deep vascular plexus (DVC) by Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid, foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, FAZ minimum and maximum diameter, perimeter length, and circularity. Main Outcome Measures: Diabetes mellitus and DR status and presence or absence of DR in the retinal periphery. Results: The reduction in vessel densities in participants with DM and manifest DR compared with control participants tended to be twice that of those with DM, but no DR, compared with control participants. Some evidence of spatial heterogeneity in vessel reductions was found in those yet to develop DR, whereas those with manifest DR had significant reductions across the ETDRS grid. The FAZ perimeter and circularity were impacted most significantly by DM, and those with DR showed decreased multispectral fractal dimensions compared with control participants. Eyes with peripheral DR had reduced vessel density compared with those with DM and no DR only in the superior outer, temporal inner, and temporal outer regions in the DVC and SVC. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ranged between 0.48 and 0.73. Conclusions: Significant differences in OCTA metrics can be found in those with DM before manifest DR using commercially available equipment with minimal image postprocessing. Although diagnostic performance was poor, these metrics may be useful for measuring change over time in clinical trials.

Advanced imaging for quantification of abnormalities in the salivary glands of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: To assess non-invasive imaging for detection and quantification of gland structure, inflammation and function in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) using PET-CT with 11C-Methionine (11C-MET; radiolabelled amino acid), and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG; glucose uptake marker), to assess protein synthesis and inflammation, respectively; multiparametric MRI evaluated salivary gland structural and physiological changes. METHODS: In this imaging/clinical/histology comparative study (GSK study 203818; NCT02899377) patients with pSS and age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers underwent MRI of the salivary glands and 11C-MET PET-CT. Patients also underwent 18F-FDG PET-CT and labial salivary gland biopsies. Clinical and biomarker assessments were performed. Primary endpoints were semi-quantitative parameters of 11C-MET and 18F-FDG uptake in submandibular and parotid salivary glands and quantitative MRI measures of structure and inflammation. Clinical and minor salivary gland histological parameter correlations were explored. RESULTS: Twelve patients with pSS and 13 healthy volunteers were included. Lower 11C-MET uptake in parotid, submandibular and lacrimal glands, lower submandibular gland volume, higher MRI fat fraction, and lower pure diffusion in parotid and submandibular glands were observed in patients vs healthy volunteer, consistent with reduced synthetic function. Disease duration correlated positively with fat fraction and negatively with 11C-MET and 18F-FDG uptake, consistent with impaired function, inflammation and fatty replacement over time. Lacrimal gland 11C-MET uptake positively correlated with tear flow in patients, and parotid gland 18F-FDG uptake positively correlated with salivary gland CD20+ B-cell infiltration. CONCLUSION: Molecular imaging and MRI may be useful tools to non-invasively assess loss of glandular function, increased glandular inflammation and fat accumulation in pSS.

Automated Segmentation of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Images: Benchmark Data and Clinically Relevant Metrics.

Purpose: To generate the first open dataset of retinal parafoveal optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images with associated ground truth manual segmentations, and to establish a standard for OCTA image segmentation by surveying a broad range of state-of-the-art vessel enhancement and binarization procedures. Methods: Handcrafted filters and neural network architectures were used to perform vessel enhancement. Thresholding methods and machine learning approaches were applied to obtain the final binarization. Evaluation was performed by using pixelwise metrics and newly proposed topological metrics. Finally, we compare the error in the computation of clinically relevant vascular network metrics (e.g., foveal avascular zone area and vessel density) across segmentation methods. Results: Our results show that, for the set of images considered, deep learning architectures (U-Net and CS-Net) achieve the best performance (Dice = 0.89). For applications where manually segmented data are not available to retrain these approaches, our findings suggest that optimally oriented flux (OOF) is the best handcrafted filter (Dice = 0.86). Moreover, our results show up to 25% differences in vessel density accuracy depending on the segmentation method used. Conclusions: In this study, we derive and validate the first open dataset of retinal parafoveal OCTA images with associated ground truth manual segmentations. Our findings should be taken into account when comparing the results of clinical studies and performing meta-analyses. Finally, we release our data and source code to support standardization efforts in OCTA image segmentation. Translational Relevance: This work establishes a standard for OCTA retinal image segmentation and introduces the importance of evaluating segmentation performance in terms of clinically relevant metrics.

Bone marrow adipose tissue is a unique adipose subtype with distinct roles in glucose homeostasis.

Bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) comprises >10% of total adipose mass, yet unlike white or brown adipose tissues (WAT or BAT) its metabolic functions remain unclear. Herein, we address this critical gap in knowledge. Our transcriptomic analyses revealed that BMAT is distinct from WAT and BAT, with altered glucose metabolism and decreased insulin responsiveness. We therefore tested these functions in mice and humans using positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. This revealed that BMAT resists insulin- and cold-stimulated glucose uptake, while further in vivo studies showed that, compared to WAT, BMAT resists insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation. Thus, BMAT is functionally distinct from WAT and BAT. However, in humans basal glucose uptake in BMAT is greater than in axial bones or subcutaneous WAT and can be greater than that in skeletal muscle, underscoring the potential of BMAT to influence systemic glucose homeostasis. These PET/CT studies characterise BMAT function in vivo, establish new methods for BMAT analysis, and identify BMAT as a distinct, major adipose tissue subtype.

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) shows significant reduction of thigh muscle stiffness in healthy older adults.

Determining the effect of ageing on thigh muscle stiffness using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and investigate whether fat fraction and muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) are related to stiffness. Six healthy older adults in their eighth and ninth decade and eight healthy young men were recruited and underwent a 3 T MRI protocol including MRE and Dixon fat fraction imaging. Muscle stiffness, fat fraction and muscle CSA were calculated in ROIs corresponding to the four quadriceps muscles (i.e. vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), vastus intermedius (VI), rectus femoris (RF)), combined quadriceps, combined hamstrings and adductors and whole thigh. Muscle stiffness was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in the older group in all measured ROIs except the VI (p = 0.573) and RF (p = 0.081). Similarly, mean fat fraction was significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the older group over all ROIs with the exception of the VI (p = 0.059) and VL muscle groups (p = 0.142). Muscle CSA was significantly reduced in older participants in the VM (p = 0.003) and the combined quadriceps (p = 0.001), hamstrings and adductors (p = 0.008) and whole thigh (p = 0.003). Over the whole thigh, stiffness was significantly negatively correlated with fat fraction (r = - 0.560, p = 0.037) and positively correlated with CSA (r = 0.749, p = 0.002). Stepwise regression analysis revealed that age was the most significant predictor of muscle stiffness (p = 0.001). These results suggest that muscle stiffness is significantly decreased in healthy older adults. Muscle fat fraction and muscle CSA are also significantly changed in older adults; however, age is the most significant predictor of muscle stiffness.

Ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI in patients with prior cardiac transplantation.

Objectives: Ultra-small superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO)-enhanced MRI can detect cellular inflammation within tissues and may help non-invasively identify cardiac transplant rejection. Here, we aimed to determine the normal reference values for USPIO-enhanced MRI in patients with a prior cardiac transplant and examine whether USPIO-enhanced MRI could detect myocardial inflammation in patients with transplant rejection. Methods: Ten volunteers and 11 patients with cardiac transplant underwent T2, T2* and late gadolinium enhancement 1.5T MRI, with further T2* imaging at 24 hours after USPIO (ferumoxytol, 4 mg/kg) infusion, at baseline and 3 months. Results: Ten patients with clinically stable cardiac transplantation were retained for analysis. Myocardial T2 values were higher in patients with cardiac transplant versus healthy volunteers (53.8±5.2 vs 48.6±1.9 ms, respectively; p=0.003). There were no differences in the magnitude of USPIO-induced change in R2* in patients with transplantation (change in R2*, 26.6±7.3 vs 22.0±10.4 s-1 in healthy volunteers; p=0.28). After 3 months, patients with transplantation (n=5) had unaltered T2 values (52.7±2.8 vs 52.12±3.4 ms; p=0.80) and changes in R2* following USPIO (29.42±8.14 vs 25.8±7.8 s-1; p=0.43). Conclusion: Stable patients with cardiac transplantation have increased myocardial T2 values, consistent with resting myocardial oedema or fibrosis. In contrast, USPIO-enhanced MRI is normal and stable over time suggesting the absence of chronic macrophage-driven cellular inflammation. It remains to be determined whether USPIO-enhanced MRI may be able to identify acute cardiac transplant rejection. Trial registration number: NCT02319278349 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02319278) Registered 03.12.2014 EUDraCT 2013-002336-24.

Enhanced avidity from a multivalent fluorescent antimicrobial peptide enables pathogen detection in a human lung model.

Rapid in situ detection of pathogens coupled with high resolution imaging in the distal human lung has the potential to provide new insights and diagnostic utility in patients in whom pneumonia is suspected. We have previously described an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) Ubiquicidin (fragment UBI29-41) labelled with an environmentally sensitive fluorophore that optically detected bacteria in vitro but not ex vivo. Here, we describe further chemical development of this compound and demonstrate that altering the secondary structure of the AMP to generate a tri-branched dendrimeric scaffold provides enhanced signal in vitro and ex vivo and consequently allows the rapid detection of pathogens in situ in an explanted human lung. This compound (NBD-UBIdend) demonstrates bacterial labelling specificity for a broad panel of pathogenic bacteria and Aspergillus fumigatus. NBD-UBIdend demonstrated high signal-to-noise fluorescence amplification upon target engagement, did not label host mammalian cells and was non-toxic and chemically robust within the inflamed biological environment. Intrapulmonary delivery of NBD-UBIdend, coupled with optical endomicroscopy demonstrated real-time, in situ detection of bacteria in explanted whole human Cystic Fibrosis lungs.

In situ identification of Gram-negative bacteria in human lungs using a topical fluorescent peptide targeting lipid A.

Respiratory infections in mechanically ventilated patients caused by Gram-negative bacteria are a major cause of morbidity. Rapid and unequivocal determination of the presence, localization, and abundance of bacteria is critical for positive resolution of the infections and could be used for patient stratification and for monitoring treatment efficacy. Here, we developed an in situ approach to visualize Gram-negative bacterial species and cellular infiltrates in distal human lungs in real time. We used optical endomicroscopy to visualize a water-soluble optical imaging probe based on the antimicrobial peptide polymyxin conjugated to an environmentally sensitive fluorophore. The probe was chemically stable and nontoxic and, after in-human intrapulmonary microdosing, enabled the specific detection of Gram-negative bacteria in distal human airways and alveoli within minutes. The results suggest that pulmonary molecular imaging using a topically administered fluorescent probe targeting bacterial lipid A is safe and practical, enabling rapid in situ identification of Gram-negative bacteria in humans.

18F-Sodium Fluoride Uptake in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: The SoFIA3 Study.

BACKGROUND: Fluorine-18-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) uptake is a marker of active vascular calcification associated with high-risk atherosclerotic plaque. OBJECTIVES: In patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), the authors assessed whether 18F-NaF positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) predicts AAA growth and clinical outcomes. METHODS: In prospective case-control (n = 20 per group) and longitudinal cohort (n = 72) studies, patients with AAA (aortic diameter >40 mm) and control subjects (aortic diameter <30 mm) underwent abdominal ultrasound, 18F-NaF PET-CT, CT angiography, and calcium scoring. Clinical endpoints were aneurysm expansion and the composite of AAA repair or rupture. RESULTS: Fluorine-18-NaF uptake was increased in AAA compared with nonaneurysmal regions within the same aorta (p = 0.004) and aortas of control subjects (p = 0.023). Histology and micro-PET-CT demonstrated that 18F-NaF uptake localized to areas of aneurysm disease and active calcification. In 72 patients within the longitudinal cohort study (mean age 73 ± 7 years, 85% men, baseline aneurysm diameter 48.8 ± 7.7 mm), there were 19 aneurysm repairs (26.4%) and 3 ruptures (4.2%) after 510 ± 196 days. Aneurysms in the highest tertile of 18F-NaF uptake expanded 2.5× more rapidly than those in the lowest tertile (3.10 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.34 to 5.92 mm/year] vs. 1.24 [IQR: 0.52 to 2.92 mm/year]; p = 0.008) and were nearly 3× as likely to experience AAA repair or rupture (15.3% vs. 5.6%; log-rank p = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: Fluorine-18-NaF PET-CT is a novel and promising approach to the identification of disease activity in patients with AAA and is an additive predictor of aneurysm growth and future clinical events. (Sodium Fluoride Imaging of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms [SoFIA3]; NCT02229006; Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MRI] for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms to Predict Rupture or Surgery: The MA3RS Trial; ISRCTN76413758).

Ferumoxytol-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in acute myocarditis.

OBJECTIVES: Ultrasmall superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO)-enhanced MRI can detect tissue-resident macrophage activity and identify cellular inflammation within tissues. We hypothesised that USPIO-enhanced MRI would provide a non-invasive imaging technique that would improve the diagnosis and management of patients with acute myocarditis. METHODS: Ten volunteers and 14 patients with suspected acute myocarditis underwent T2, T2* and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) 3T MRI, with further T2* imaging at 24 hours after USPIO (ferumoxytol, 4 mg/kg) infusion, at baseline and 3 months. Myocardial oedema and USPIO enhancement were determined within areas of LGE as well as throughout the myocardium. RESULTS: Myocarditis was confirmed in nine of the 14 suspected cases of myocarditis. There was greater myocardial oedema in regions of LGE in patients with myocarditis when compared with healthy volunteer myocardium (T2 value, 57.1±5.3 vs 46.7±1.6 ms, p<0.0001). There was no demonstrable difference in USPIO enhancement between patients and volunteers even within regions displaying LGE (change in R2*, 35.0±15.0 vs 37.2±9.6 s-1, p>0.05). Imaging after 3 months in patients with myocarditis revealed a reduction in volume of LGE, a reduction in oedema measures within regions displaying LGE and improvement in ejection fraction (mean -19.7 mL, 95% CI (-0.5 to -40.0)), -5.8 ms (-0.9 to -10.7) and +6% (0.5% to 11.5%), respectively, p<0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: In patients with acute myocarditis, USPIO-enhanced MRI does not provide additional clinically relevant information to LGE and T2 mapping MRI. This suggests that tissue-resident macrophages do not provide a substantial contribution to the myocardial inflammation in this condition.Clinical trial registration NCT02319278; Results.

Exploring the Biological and Mechanical Properties of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Using USPIO MRI and Peak Tissue Stress: A Combined Clinical and Finite Element Study.

Inflammation detected through the uptake of ultrasmall superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and finite element (FE) modelling of tissue stress both hold potential in the assessment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture risk. This study aimed to examine the spatial relationship between these two biomarkers. Patients (n = 50) > 40 years with AAA maximum diameters > = 40 mm underwent USPIO-enhanced MRI and computed tomography angiogram (CTA). USPIO uptake was compared with wall stress predictions from CTA-based patient-specific FE models of each aneurysm. Elevated stress was commonly observed in areas vulnerable to rupture (e.g. posterior wall and shoulder). Only 16% of aneurysms exhibited co-localisation of elevated stress and mural USPIO enhancement. Globally, no correlation was observed between stress and other measures of USPIO uptake (i.e. mean or peak). It is suggested that cellular inflammation and stress may represent different but complimentary aspects of AAA disease progression.

Ferumoxytol-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging assessing inflammation after myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: Macrophages play a central role in the cellular inflammatory response to myocardial infarction (MI) and predict subsequent clinical outcomes. We aimed to assess temporal changes in cellular inflammation and tissue oedema in patients with acute MI using ultrasmallsuperparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO)-enhanced MRI. METHODS: Thirty-one patients were recruited following acute MI and followed up for 3 months with repeated T2 and USPIO-enhanced T2*-mapping MRI. Regions of interest were categorised into infarct, peri-infarct and remote myocardial zones, and compared with control tissues. RESULTS: Following a single dose, USPIO enhancement was detected in the myocardium until 24 hours (p<0.0001). Histology confirmed colocalisation of iron and macrophages within the infarcted, but not the non-infarcted, myocardium. Following repeated doses, USPIO uptake in the infarct zone peaked at days 2-3, and greater USPIO uptake was detected in the infarct zone compared with remote myocardium until days 10-16 (p<0.05). In contrast, T2-defined myocardial oedema peaked at days 3-9 and remained increased in the infarct zone throughout the 3-month follow-up period (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Myocardial macrophage activity can be detected using USPIO-enhanced MRI in the first 2 weeks following acute MI. This observed pattern of cellular inflammation is distinct, and provides complementary information to the more prolonged myocardial oedema detectable using T2 mapping. This imaging technique holds promise as a non-invasive method of assessing and monitoring myocardial cellular inflammation with potential application to diagnosis, risk stratification and assessment of novel anti-inflammatory therapeutic interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Trial registration number: 14663. Registered on UK Clinical Research Network (http://public.ukcrn.org.uk) and also ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02319278?term=DECIFER&rank=2).

Ferumoxytol-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging methodology and normal values at 1.5 and 3T.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasmall superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect tissue-resident macrophage activity and identify cellular inflammation. Clinical studies using this technique are now emerging. We aimed to report a range of normal R2* values at 1.5 and 3 T in the myocardium and other tissues following ferumoxytol administration, outline the methodology used and suggest solutions to commonly encountered analysis problems. METHODS: Twenty volunteers were recruited: 10 imaged each at 1.5 T and 3 T. T2* and late gadolinium enhanced (LGE) MRI was conducted at baseline with further T2* imaging conducted approximately 24 h after USPIO infusion (ferumoxytol, 4 mg/kg). Regions of interest were selected in the myocardium and compared to other tissues. RESULTS: Following administration, USPIO was detected by changes in R2* from baseline (1/T2*) at 24 h in myocardium, skeletal muscle, kidney, liver, spleen and blood at 1.5 T, and myocardium, kidney, liver, spleen, blood and bone at 3 T (p < 0.05 for all). Myocardial changes in R2* due to USPIO were 26.5 ± 7.3 s-1 at 1.5 T, and 37.2 ± 9.6 s-1 at 3 T (p < 0.0001 for both). Tissues showing greatest ferumoxytol enhancement were the reticuloendothelial system: the liver, spleen and bone marrow (216.3 ± 32.6 s-1, 336.3 ± 60.3 s-1, 69.9 ± 79.9 s-1; p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p = ns respectively at 1.5 T, and 275.6 ± 69.9 s-1, 463.9 ± 136.7 s-1, 417.9 ± 370.3 s-1; p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.01 respectively at 3 T). CONCLUSION: Ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI is feasible at both 1.5 T and 3 T. Careful data selection and dose administration, along with refinements to echo-time acquisition, post-processing and analysis techniques are essential to ensure reliable and robust quantification of tissue enhancement. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier - NCT02319278 . Registered 03.12.2014.

Sertoli Cells Modulate Testicular Vascular Network Development, Structure, and Function to Influence Circulating Testosterone Concentrations in Adult Male Mice.

The testicular vasculature forms a complex network, providing oxygenation, micronutrients, and waste clearance from the testis. The vasculature is also instrumental to testis function because it is both the route by which gonadotropins are delivered to the testis and by which T is transported away to target organs. Whether Sertoli cells play a role in regulating the testicular vasculature in postnatal life has never been unequivocally demonstrated. In this study we used models of acute Sertoli cell ablation and acute germ cell ablation to address whether Sertoli cells actively influence vascular structure and function in the adult testis. Our findings suggest that Sertoli cells play a key role in supporting the structure of the testicular vasculature. Ablating Sertoli cells (and germ cells) or germ cells alone results in a similar reduction in testis size, yet only the specific loss of Sertoli cells leads to a reduction in total intratesticular vascular volume, the number of vascular branches, and the numbers of small microvessels; loss of germ cells alone has no effect on the testicular vasculature. These perturbations to the testicular vasculature leads to a reduction in fluid exchange between the vasculature and testicular interstitium, which reduces gonadotropin-stimulated circulating T concentrations, indicative of reduced Leydig cell stimulation and/or reduced secretion of T into the vasculature. These findings describe a new paradigm by which the transport of hormones and other factors into and out of the testis may be influenced by Sertoli cells and highlights these cells as potential targets for enhancing this endocrine relationship.