TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantitative monitoring of paramagnetic contrast agents and their allocation in plant tissues via DCE-MRI
AU - Mayer, Simon
AU - Munz, Eberhard
AU - Hammer, Sebastian
AU - Wagner, Steffen
AU - Guendel, Andre
AU - Rolletschek, Hardy
AU - Jakob, Peter M.
AU - Borisjuk, Ljudmilla
AU - Neuberger, Thomas
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Background: Studying dynamic processes in living organisms with MRI is one of the most promising research areas. The use of paramagnetic compounds as contrast agents (CA), has proven key to such studies, but so far, the lack of appropriate techniques limits the application of CA-technologies in experimental plant biology. The presented proof-of-principle aims to support method and knowledge transfer from medical research to plant science. Results: In this study, we designed and tested a new approach for plant Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (pDCE-MRI). The new approach has been applied in situ to a cereal crop (Hordeum vulgare). The pDCE-MRI allows non-invasive investigation of CA allocation within plant tissues. In our experiments, gadolinium-DTPA, the most commonly used contrast agent in medical MRI, was employed. By acquiring dynamic T1-maps, a new approach visualizes an alteration of a tissue-specific MRI parameter T1 (longitudinal relaxation time) in response to the CA. Both, the measurement of local CA concentration and the monitoring of translocation in low velocity ranges (cm/h) was possible using this CA-enhanced method. Conclusions: A novel pDCE-MRI method is presented for non-invasive investigation of paramagnetic CA allocation in living plants. The temporal resolution of the T1-mapping has been significantly improved to enable the dynamic in vivo analysis of transport processes at low-velocity ranges, which are common in plants. The newly developed procedure allows to identify vascular regions and to estimate their involvement in CA allocation. Therefore, the presented technique opens a perspective for further development of CA-aided MRI experiments in plant biology.
AB - Background: Studying dynamic processes in living organisms with MRI is one of the most promising research areas. The use of paramagnetic compounds as contrast agents (CA), has proven key to such studies, but so far, the lack of appropriate techniques limits the application of CA-technologies in experimental plant biology. The presented proof-of-principle aims to support method and knowledge transfer from medical research to plant science. Results: In this study, we designed and tested a new approach for plant Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (pDCE-MRI). The new approach has been applied in situ to a cereal crop (Hordeum vulgare). The pDCE-MRI allows non-invasive investigation of CA allocation within plant tissues. In our experiments, gadolinium-DTPA, the most commonly used contrast agent in medical MRI, was employed. By acquiring dynamic T1-maps, a new approach visualizes an alteration of a tissue-specific MRI parameter T1 (longitudinal relaxation time) in response to the CA. Both, the measurement of local CA concentration and the monitoring of translocation in low velocity ranges (cm/h) was possible using this CA-enhanced method. Conclusions: A novel pDCE-MRI method is presented for non-invasive investigation of paramagnetic CA allocation in living plants. The temporal resolution of the T1-mapping has been significantly improved to enable the dynamic in vivo analysis of transport processes at low-velocity ranges, which are common in plants. The newly developed procedure allows to identify vascular regions and to estimate their involvement in CA allocation. Therefore, the presented technique opens a perspective for further development of CA-aided MRI experiments in plant biology.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128225914&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85128225914&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13007-022-00877-z
DO - 10.1186/s13007-022-00877-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 35410361
AN - SCOPUS:85128225914
SN - 1746-4811
VL - 18
JO - Plant Methods
JF - Plant Methods
IS - 1
M1 - 47
ER -