Sp. Burns et al., Fetal program ming of hepatic lobular architecture in the rat demonstratedex vivo with magnetic resonance imaging, NMR BIOMED, 13(2), 2000, pp. 82-91
We demonstrate that MRI imaging at sub-millimetre resolution can distinguis
h between periportal and perivenous zones of the rat liver lobule. This mad
e it possible to measure the hepatic lobular radius in ex-vivo perfused fix
ed livers using MRI. Comparisons of histomorphometric and MRI measurements
of lobular radius were in good agreement, although MRI measurements were si
gnificantly smaller (P < 0.001). Male rats whose mothers were fed 40% of th
e protein of controls during gestation and lactation, had a significantly l
arger hepatic lobular radius than that of controls [449 +/- 11 mu m vs 373
+/- 9 mu m (mean +/- SEM), respectively, p < 0.001, n = 12; histomorphometr
y data]. The proton T-2 in periportal and perivenous zones was mapped both
before and after antegrade or retrograde perfusion of 10 ml of digitonin (4
mg ml(-1)). Only the T-2 of the hypointense regions increased significantl
y following antegrade perfusion of digitonin and conversely only that of th
e intense regions following retrograde perfusion. Digitonin causes permeabi
lization of cells in specific hepatic zones, determined by the direction of
perfusion. The intense and hypointense regions of the hepatic MR images th
us arise from the perivenous and periportal zones of the hepatic lobule, re
spectively. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.