Renal Fibrosis Assessment in Rabbits with Chronic Renal Nephropathy Using Virtual Touch Tissue Quantiifcation Technique:Experimental Study / 中国医学影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Purpose Chronic nephropathy model was established with New Zealand rabbit, and the development of chronic nephropathy was monitored using virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) technique, to provide the experimental basis for chronic renal fibrosis assessment using VTQ technique. Materials and Methods Thirty-eight healthy New Zealand white rabbits were selected, of which 32 were induced into chronic nephropathy model with daily intravenous ear vein injection of cationic bovine serum albumin (C-BSA), with the other 6 rabbits without C-BSA injection as control group. At the end of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks, VTQ was used to measure the hardness of renal cortex in rabbits, then the rabbits were slaughtered to assess the pathological changes in kidney, correlation analysis between the VTQ parameters and the pathological parameters was performed. Results VTQ value of rabbit kidney cortex at 0 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks and 8 weeks was (1.68±0.25) m/s, (1.70±0.31) m/s, (1.87±0.35) m/s, (2.19±0.31) m/s and (2.46±0.46) m/s respectively, difference of VTQ values between 6 weeks and 4 weeks was statistically signiifcant (P<0.05), and also signiifcant when compared 8 weeks with 4 weeks and 6 weeks (P<0.05). Glomerulosclerosis index of 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks were 0.81±0.40, 1.43±0.46 and 2.15±0.46 respectively, and tubular interstitial collagen deposition score were (14.29±4.62)%, (26.28±11.06)%, (42.37±10.09)%, which were all significantly higher than that in 0 week and 2 weeks, fibrosis increased gradually with the course, the difference was statistically signiifcant (P<0.05). Correlation analysis showed that the VTQ value of renal cortex was positively correlated with glomerulosclerosis index (r=0.663, P<0.05) and tubular interstitial collagen deposition score (r=0.652, P<0.05). Conclusion VTQ technique is able to detect the VTQ change of renal cortex as the disease progressed in rabbits with chronic renal nephropathy, which was in a positive association with fibrosis index, suggesting that virtual touch tissues quantitative technology can be an important method to evaluate renal ifbrosis in chronic renal nephropathy.