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Figure 1

From: Dual-probe molecular MRI for the in vivo characterization of atherosclerosis in a mouse model: Simultaneous assessment of plaque inflammation and extracellular-matrix remodeling

Figure 1

Multitarget characterization of the plaque-burden and inflammatory activity by molecular MRI. (A) Time-of-flight-angiography showing the aortic-arch, brachiocephalic-artery, subclavian-artery and carotid-arteries of an ApoE−/− mice after four-months of high-fat-diet. (B) T1-weighted-imaging pre-contrast (B1, B4) and following the administration of the gadolinium-based elastin-specific MR-probe (B2, B5) at the clinical dose of 0.2 mmol/kg. Automatic image-fusion (B3, B6) demonstrates the localization of the signal from the MR-probe in the vascular-wall in relation to the blood signal (B4). (C) T2*-weighted-imaging prior to and following the administration of the iron-oxide-probe (ferumoxytol) at the clinical dose of 4 mg Fe/kg. On pre-contrast images, the vascular lumen can be clearly delineated for circular shape (C1). 24-hours following the administration of the iron-oxide-particle, a clear signal-void reduces the signal from the lumen can be visualized (C2), reflecting the accumulation of the iron-oxide-particles in atherosclerotic-plaques.

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