INBRE IMAGING CORE
MRI Core Facility Director
Dr. Rheal Towner
Associate Member
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Free Radical Biology and Aging Research Program
825 NE 13th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
voice 405.271.7383
fax 405.271.3980
User Fees Core Profile Research Foci
At the Multifunctional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Facility located at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) adjacent to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) campus, we utilize various high-resolution MR techniques (including microscopic imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy) for the study of cancer, neurological, cardiovascular, ocular, inflammatory, developmental biology, and immunological biomedical research studies. Many of the studies within the facility utilize transgenic murine models. The use of transgenic mice has dramatically advanced our ability to analyze and understand the molecular basis of various diseases, however few methods exist to be able to visualize the various tissues, organs and vascular systems of mice in vivo and non-invasively at any meaningful resolution. The instrument currently under construction, a Bruker Biospin 7 Tesla 30 cm horizontal-bore small animal imaging spectrometer, will be capable of obtaining in vivo microimages at >100 µm resolution in transgenic mice.
The initial INBRE projects that will be conducted at the Multifunctional MRI Facility will essentially be focused on neurological and cancer projects. Dr. Towner (OMRF) will utilize the equipment in the Multifunctional MRI Facility to assess the therapeutic and/or prophylaxis effect of an anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic agent, α-phenyl-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN), in its’ ability to inhibit the formation of malignant glioma formation in an experimental rodent model. Both functional MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) techniques will be used to characterize in vivo tumor ‘biomarkers’ occurring from alterations in vascularization or metabolism. Dr. Chen (University of Central Oklahoma) can potentially use MRI methods to morphologically assess the effectiveness of laser-ICG selective photothermal treatment in experimental rodent metastatic mammary tumors. Dr. Williams (Langston University) can potentially use functional MRI to assess the role of estrogen (E2) and its effects on microglia in the cerebellum of aged female rats.
Morphological MRI and/or microscopic MRI (~100 µm resolution) will be used to localize and determine the extent of cancer (and pre-cancer) lesions in rodent carcinogenesis models, murine adenomas, colonic adenomas, and lymphoid tumors; murine neurological disease model lesions in Alzheimer’s disease and ALS; inflammatory edema in lung, vasculitis and granulomas (lung and kidneys), and sepsis-induced tissue (liver, lung, kidney) injury; in utero and ex vivo murine development; and lymphoid tissue development (tibial trabecular bone thickness, spleen and thymus size).
Various contrast agents (non-specific, tissue-specific, or receptor/antigen-specific) will be used for the proposed studies. For projects on murine retinal imaging, an intraocular Mn2+ contrast agent will be used to enhance the retinal region (measurement of retinal thickness). A dendrimer-based contrast agent, PAMAM, will be used to visualize lymphoid tumors (Kincade). A nitric oxide (NO) trap (dithiocarbamates (DTC)) which forms a paramagnetic NO-Fe-DTC complex will be used as a NO-specific contrast agent to study free radical-induced liver injury (Kotake). A b-glactosidase substrate, EgadMe (2,3,4,6-aceto-1-ethylbromo-galactose), which becomes paramagnetic once cleaved, will be used to assess atherosclerotic lesions. Target-specific MR contrast agents with antibodies specific for lymphoid tumors, and P-selectin will be developed. MR angiography in combination with ultrasmall particles of iron oxide (USPIOs), which are taken up by macrophages, will be used to visualize atherosclerotic plaques.
Phase velocity
mapping and/or cine MR velocity mapping will be used to calculate blood velocity
in murine arterial segments with atherosclerotic plaques.
Functional MRI (fMRI) and/or cerebral blood volume (CBV) will be used to investigate phenotype analysis of mouse models of mental retardation, Alzheimer’s disease and drug therapies, and ALS pathogenesis.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) (either 1H-MRS and/or 31P-MRS), using either single-voxel image-guided MRS or chemical-shift imaging (CSI), will be used to monitor metabolic profiles for tumor pathogenesis (lipid/phospholipid alterations; Towner, Floyd), Alzheimer’s plaque pathogenesis (NAA (N-acetyl aspartate), choline, creatine; Tang), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) pathogenesis (NAA, creatine, choline; Hensley), mental retardation (NAA; Hochgeschwender), or endotoxin-induced sepsis (lactate, inorganic phosphate; Thompson).
The OMRF has several in-house core facilities including Imaging, cDNA array, and Sequencing (listed in the website www.omrf.ouhsc.edu). In these facilities, the OMRF provides personnel support for the daily operation and users pay small user's fees and for consumables. At present, we plan on implementing a similar charge-back system for the MRI Facility. Such a plan will be under scrutiny by an internal advisory committee. Revenue to maintain the MR Facility, equipment and associated staff will be obtained by a fee structure based on operator assistance or unassisted direct user cost fees for on-campus (OMRF and OUHSC) and off-campus investigators, grant-funded or preliminary projects, during weekday (Mon-Fri 8:30 am - 6:00 pm) or evening/weekend use. The fees have been calculated based on estimated cryogen use, MRI Core Facility Staff involvement, required anesthetics, standard contrast agent use, and miscellaneous administrative costs (e.g. data storage, printing, and computer usage).
Operator Assistance Direct User Cost Fees (8:30 am - 6:00 pm Mon-Fri)
(i) Off-Campus users (grant-funded): $200/hr
(ii) On-Campus users (grant-funded): $100/hr
(iii) Off-Campus users (preliminary investigations): $100/hr
(iv) On-Campus users (preliminary investigations): $50/hr
Unassisted Direct User Cost Fees (8:30 am - 6:00 pm Mon-Fri)
(i) Off-Campus users (grant-funded): $100/hr
(ii) On-Campus users (grant-funded): $50/hr
Unassisted Direct User Cost Fees (6:00 pm - 8:00 am Mon-Fri and weekends)
(i) Off-Campus users (grant-funded): $50/hr
(ii)
On-Campus users (grant-funded): $25/hr
As more projects
come on board there will be an increased capability for undergraduate and
post-graduate students, as well as new post-doctoral fellows to be involved.
At OMRF there are a number of mechanisms that undergraduate students can
be involved, including enrollment in either the OMRF
Summer School program (Fleming Scholarship Program) or the new OMRF
Post-baccalaureate Research Program (PReP).
For the Fleming Scholarship Program, qualifying students spend the summer
at OMRF to conduct a biomedical research project under the supervision of a
mentor. For the OMRF PReP qualified
students are given the opportunity to conduct a research project for 1 to 2
years under the supervision of an OMRF research scientist.
The Multifunctional MRI Facility anticipates taking on at least 2 Fleming
Scholars and 2 PReP students in 2004.
