Magnetic Resonance Microimaging System

描述（由申请人提供）： 磁共振成像（MRI）已经成为用于生物组织中的结构特征的可视化和量化的最有用的技术之一。它特别适用于连续、非侵入性监测随时间发生的解剖变化和功能改变。这项共享仪器补助金（SIG）申请要求提供资金购买控制台，以改造9.4特斯拉超导磁体，使其具有高分辨率光谱学和显微成像的全功能能力。该仪器将满足贝勒医学院5名主要研究者和5名次要研究者的需求。他们目前正在进行的NIH资助的项目涉及以下研究：1）动脉粥样硬化病变组分的分割和定量，2）小鼠心脏结构和功能的动态测量，3）与高同型半胱氨酸血症相关的动脉粥样硬化机制，4）小鼠骨骼，心脏和平滑肌分化，5）乙酰辅酶A羧化酶在脂肪代谢中的作用，6）心脏损伤和修复，7）炎症对小鼠血管重塑的影响，8）先天免疫应答对左心室重塑的影响，9）突变小鼠的表征，和10）遗传改变的小鼠中的下丘脑-垂体发育。所要求的仪器将使研究者能够进行广泛的体内实验，包括血流动力学、组织脂肪含量、骨和器官大小/形态以及动脉粥样硬化斑块组成的测量。获得所需的核磁共振仪器将对该机构进行的心血管疾病研究的质量和数量产生强烈的积极影响。它不仅将加强对导致动脉粥样硬化的细胞和分子过程的基础探索，而且还将加速发现控制心脏发育，损伤和修复的新机制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has become one of the most useful technologies for the visualization and quantification of structural features in biological tissues. It is especially useful for serial, non-invasive monitoring of anatomic changes and functional alterations occurring over time. This shared instrumentation grant (SIG) application requests funding for the purchase of a console to retrofit a 9.4 Tesla superconducting magnet with full function capabilities for high resolution spectroscopy and microimaging. This instrument will serve the needs of 5 primary and 5 secondary investigators at Baylor College of Medicine. Their currently active, NIH-funded projects involve investigations of 1) Segmentation and quantitation of components in atherosclerotic lesions, 2) Dynamic measurement of mouse heart structure and function, 3) Atherogenic mechanisms associated with hyperhomocysteinemia, 4) Murine skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle differentiation, 5) Role of acetyI-CoA carboxylases in fat metabolism, 6) Cardiac injury and repair, 7) Effect of inflammation on mouse blood vessel remodeling, 8) Effect of innate immune responses on left ventricular remodeling, 9) Characterization of mutant mice, and 10) Hypothalmic-pituitary development in genetically altered mice. The requested instrument will enable investigators to perform a wide range of in vivo experiments including measurements of blood flow dynamics, tissue fat content, bone and organ size/morphology, and atherosclerotic plaque composition. Acquisition of the requested NMR instrumentation will have a strong positive impact on the quality and quantity of cardiovascular disease research performed at this institution. It will not only enhance basic exploration into cellular and molecular processes leading to atherosclerosis, but also accelerate the discovery of new mechanisms that control cardiac development, injury, and repair.