Assessment of peripheral tissue perfusion disorder in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

Purpose ess peripheral tissue perfusion disorder in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats by using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). als and Methods diabetes model was produced by intravenous injection of STZ. Diabetic rats were sustainably treated with either saline or insulin using an Alzet osmotic pump. Hind paw tissue perfusion was measured by signal intensity (SI) enhancement after gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid injection in DCE-MRI study and quantified using the initial area under the SI-time curve (IAUC). Peripheral tissue uptake of [14C]iodoantipyrine (IAP) was also determined as a marker of tissue blood flow for comparison with the IAUC value indicating tissue perfusion. s used hyperglycemia at 1 and 2 weeks after injection. Treatment with insulin significantly alleviated hyperglycemia. At 2 weeks after STZ injection, peripheral tissue perfusion was clearly reduced in the diabetic rats and its reduction was significantly improved in the insulin-treated diabetic rats. Tissue perfusion evaluated by DCE-MRI was similar to the tissue blood flow measured by [14C]IAP uptake. sion ndings demonstrated that DCE-MRI can assess peripheral tissue perfusion disorder in diabetes. DCE-MRI could be suitable for noninvasive evaluation of peripheral tissue perfusion in both preclinical and clinical studies. It may also be useful for developing novel drugs to protect against diabetic vascular complications.