Counting glomeruli in human kidney specimens using ex vivo MRI without contrast agents.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The total number of glomeruli is an important indicator of kidney function and susceptibility to disease. Glomeruli, however, are difficult to image using MRI without contrast enhancement. For this reason, previous studies have used cationic ferritin as a contrast agent to detect glomeruli in ex vivo and in vivo perfused kidneys. This study aimed to develop a new technique using MR microimaging at ultrahigh field, without contrast agents, to visualize and quantify glomeruli in human nephrectomy samples.

Methods

MRI was performed at 16.4 T using three-dimensional T₁/ T2*$$ {\mathrm{T}}_2^{\ast } $$ -weighted gradient-echo imaging at 30 to 200 μm isotropic resolution on cortical samples with volumes ranging from 155 to 1384 mm³. A segmentation pip

SUBMITTER: Kurniawan ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12501694 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature