Proteoglycan Depletion–Induced Changes in Transverse Relaxation Maps of Cartilage: Comparison of T2 and T1ρ

doi:10.1016/S1076-6332(03)80666-9

Academic Radiology

Volume 9, Issue 12, December 2002, Pages 1388-1394

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1076-6332(03)80666-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Rationale and Objectives

The authors performed this study to (a) measure changes in T2 relaxation rates, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast with sequential depletion of proteoglycan in cartilage; (b) determine whether there is a relationship between the T2 relaxation rate and proteoglycan in cartilage; and (c) compare the T2 mapping method with the spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame (T1ρ) mapping method in the quantification of proteoglycan-induced changes.

Materials and Methods

T2- and T1ρ-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images were obtained in five bovine patellae. All images were obtained with a 4-T whole-body MR unit and a 10-cm-diameter transmit-receive quadrature birdcage coil tuned to 170 MHz. T2 and T1ρ maps were computed.

Results

The SNR and contrast on the T2-weighted images were, on average, about 43% lower than those on the corresponding T1ρ-weighted images. The T2 relaxation rates varied randomly without any particular trend, which yielded a poor correlation with sequential depletion of proteoglycan (R² = 0.008, P < .70). There was excellent linear correlation between the percentage of proteoglycan in the tissue and the T1ρ relaxation rate (R² = 0.85, P < .0001).

Conclusion

T2-weighted imaging neither yields quantitative information about the changes in proteoglycan distribution in cartilage nor can be used for longitudinal studies to quantify proteoglycan-induced changes. T1ρ-weighted imaging, however, is sensitive to sequential depletion of proteoglycan in bovine cartilage and can be used to quantify proteoglycan-induced changes.

Section snippets

Proteoglycan Depletion Protocol

Fresh bovine patellae were obtained from a slaughterhouse within 12 hours after the cows were killed, and were stored frozen. All of the surrounding fat was trimmed, and a groove was cut on the articular surface to divide the surface into two halves. Each specimen was placed on a nonpermeable divider in such a way that the groove on the articular surface was wedged onto the divider. One side of each specimen was equilibrated in 137 mmol/L phosphate-buffered saline, and the other half was

Results

Figure 3 shows a comparison of $1 T2$ and $1 T1ρ$ relaxation rates as a function of the percentage of proteoglycan remaining in the tissue. Although T2 relaxation rates vary with the sequential depletion of proteoglycan, one can clearly see that the values are completely scattered without any particular trend. This yielded a poor correlation between the T2 relaxation rate and the percentage of proteoglycan in tissue (R² = 0.008, P < .70). The standard error in the T2 relaxation data is substantially

Discussion

In a T2-weighted image, the spins can dephase through various mechanisms (eg, background inhomogeneities, susceptibility variations, and diffusion) during the echo time. Furthermore, in proteoglycan-depleted tissue, changes in water content, dipolar relaxation, diffusion, and local susceptibilities may be responsible for the observed correlation between $1 T2$ and proteoglycan change in cartilage. Thus, although signal intensity changes occur with changes in proteoglycan content at T2-weighted

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^☆: Supported by NIH Research Resource grant RR02305, National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases grants R0145242 and R0145404, and a grant from the Arthritis Foundation.

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Original InvestigationsProteoglycan Depletion–Induced Changes in Transverse Relaxation Maps of Cartilage: Comparison of T2 and T1ρ☆

Abstract

Rationale and Objectives

Materials and Methods

Results

Conclusion

Section snippets

Proteoglycan Depletion Protocol

Results

Discussion

J Magn Reson

Osteoarthritis Cartilage

Biochemical and metabolic abnormalities in articular cartilage from osteoarthritic human hips

II. Correlation of morphology with biochemical and metabolic data. J Bone Joint Surg Am

Proteoglycan loss and subsequent replenishment in articular cartilage after a mild arthritic insult by IL-1 in mice: impaired proteoglycan turnover in the recovery phase

Agents Actions

Some biochemical and biophysical parameters for the study of the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis: a comparison between the processes of aging and degeneration in human hip cartilage

Connect Tissue Res

Analysis of water-macromolecule proton magnetization transfer in articular cartilage

Magn Reson Med

MRI contrast enhanced study of cartilage proteoglycan degradation in the rabbit knee

Magn Reson Med

Structure, function, and degeneration of bovine hyaline cartilage: assessment with MR imaging in vitro

Radiology

Magnetization transfer in cartilage and its constituent macromolecules

Magn Reson Med

Anisotropy of NMR properties of tissues

Magn Reson Med

Macromolecule and water magnetization exchange modeling in articular cartilage

Magn Reson Med

Gd-DTPA2 as a measure of cartilage degradation

Magn Reson Med

Protocol issues for delayed Gd(DTPA)2-enhanced MRI (dGEMRIC) for clinical evaluation of articular cartilage

Magn Reson Med

The role of relaxation times in monitoring proteoglycan depletion in articular cartilage

J Magn Reson Imaging

In-vitro assessement of nitroxide contrasting agent in early -OA proteoglycan depletion of articular cartilage (abstr)

Original Investigations
Proteoglycan Depletion–Induced Changes in Transverse Relaxation Maps of Cartilage: Comparison of T2 and T1ρ☆

Gd-DTPA² as a measure of cartilage degradation