TY  - JOUR
A1  - Andelovic, Kristina
A1  - Winter, Patrick
A1  - Kampf, Thomas
A1  - Xu, Anton
A1  - Jakob, Peter Michael
A1  - Herold, Volker
A1  - Bauer, Wolfgang Rudolf
A1  - Zernecke, Alma
T1  - 2D Projection Maps of WSS and OSI Reveal Distinct Spatiotemporal Changes in Hemodynamics in the Murine Aorta during Ageing and Atherosclerosis
JF  - Biomedicines
N2  - Growth, ageing and atherosclerotic plaque development alter the biomechanical forces acting on the vessel wall. However, monitoring the detailed local changes in wall shear stress (WSS) at distinct sites of the murine aortic arch over time has been challenging. Here, we studied the temporal and spatial changes in flow, WSS, oscillatory shear index (OSI) and elastic properties of healthy wildtype (WT, n = 5) and atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe\(^{−/−}\), n = 6) mice during ageing and atherosclerosis using high-resolution 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Spatially resolved 2D projection maps of WSS and OSI of the complete aortic arch were generated, allowing the pixel-wise statistical analysis of inter- and intragroup hemodynamic changes over time and local correlations between WSS, pulse wave velocity (PWV), plaque and vessel wall characteristics. The study revealed converse differences of local hemodynamic profiles in healthy WT and atherosclerotic Apoe\(^{−/−}\) mice, and we identified the circumferential WSS as potential marker of plaque size and composition in advanced atherosclerosis and the radial strain as a potential marker for vascular elasticity. Two-dimensional (2D) projection maps of WSS and OSI, including statistical analysis provide a powerful tool to monitor local aortic hemodynamics during ageing and atherosclerosis. The correlation of spatially resolved hemodynamics and plaque characteristics could significantly improve our understanding of the impact of hemodynamics on atherosclerosis, which may be key to understand plaque progression towards vulnerability.
KW  - atherosclerosis
KW  - mouse
KW  - 4D flow MRI
KW  - aortic arch
KW  - flow dynamics
KW  - WSS
KW  - mapping
KW  - PWV
KW  - plaque characteristics
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-252164
SN  - 2227-9059
VL  - 9
IS  - 12
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Andelovic, Kristina
A1  - Winter, Patrick
A1  - Jakob, Peter Michael
A1  - Bauer, Wolfgang Rudolf
A1  - Herold, Volker
A1  - Zernecke, Alma
T1  - Evaluation of plaque characteristics and inflammation using magnetic resonance imaging
JF  - Biomedicines
N2  - Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease of large and medium-sized arteries, characterized by the growth of atherosclerotic lesions (plaques). These plaques often develop at inner curvatures of arteries, branchpoints, and bifurcations, where the endothelial wall shear stress is low and oscillatory. In conjunction with other processes such as lipid deposition, biomechanical factors lead to local vascular inflammation and plaque growth. There is also evidence that low and oscillatory shear stress contribute to arterial remodeling, entailing a loss in arterial elasticity and, therefore, an increased pulse-wave velocity. Although altered shear stress profiles, elasticity and inflammation are closely intertwined and critical for plaque growth, preclinical and clinical investigations for atherosclerosis mostly focus on the investigation of one of these parameters only due to the experimental limitations. However, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been demonstrated to be a potent tool which can be used to provide insights into a large range of biological parameters in one experimental session. It enables the evaluation of the dynamic process of atherosclerotic lesion formation without the need for harmful radiation. Flow-sensitive MRI provides the assessment of hemodynamic parameters such as wall shear stress and pulse wave velocity which may replace invasive and radiation-based techniques for imaging of the vascular
function and the characterization of early plaque development. In combination with inflammation imaging, the analyses and correlations of these parameters could not only significantly advance basic preclinical investigations of atherosclerotic lesion formation and progression, but also the diagnostic clinical evaluation for early identification of high-risk plaques, which are prone to rupture. In this review, we summarize the key applications of magnetic resonance imaging for the evaluation of plaque characteristics through flow sensitive and morphological measurements. The simultaneous measurements of functional and structural parameters will further preclinical research on atherosclerosis and has the potential to fundamentally improve the detection of inflammation and vulnerable plaques in patients.
KW  - atherosclerosis
KW  - mouse models
KW  - wall shear stress
KW  - pulse wave velocity
KW  - arterial elasticity
KW  - inflammation
KW  - magnetic resonance imaging
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228839
SN  - 2227-9059
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -