Intravoxel incoherent motion imaging used to assess tumor microvascular changes after transarterial chemoembolization in a rabbit VX2 liver tumor model

Zhimei Cheng; Huanrong Qin; Wei Cao; Huizhou He; Shuling Zhang; Yushi Yang; Zhenmin Wang; Xun Zou; Lizhou Wang; Xueqing Huang; Shi Zhou; Shuai Zhang

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1114406

Intravoxel incoherent motion imaging used to assess tumor microvascular changes after transarterial chemoembolization in a rabbit VX2 liver tumor model

Front Oncol. 2023 Feb 28:13:1114406. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1114406. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Zhimei Cheng¹, Huanrong Qin¹, Wei Cao², Huizhou He¹, Shuling Zhang³, Yushi Yang⁴, Zhenmin Wang⁵, Xun Zou⁵, Lizhou Wang¹, Xueqing Huang¹, Shi Zhou¹, Shuai Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Interventional Radiology, the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, China Branch of National Clinical Research Center for Interventional Medicine, Guiyang, China.
² Department of Interventional Radiology, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
³ The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University & Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
⁴ Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
⁵ Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between microvascular density (MVD) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters and the effect of glycolytic flux after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in a rabbit VX2 liver tumor.

Materials and methods: VX2 liver tumor allografts in 15 New Zealand white rabbits were treated with sterile saline (control group, n = 5) or lipiodol-doxorubicin emulsion (experimental group, n = 10). MRI was performed 2 weeks after the procedure to evaluate IVIM parameters, including apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), pure diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (PF). All animal samples were taken of the tumor and surrounding liver. Immunostaining for CD31, CD34, CD105, and VEGF was used to evaluate MVD. The protein expression of Glut4, HK2, PKM2, LDHA, and MCT1 was determined using western blotting. Pearson correlation tests were used to analyze the relationship between MVD and IVIM parameters.

Results: D* value in the peritumoral region was negatively correlated with CD34 (r = -0.71, P = 0.01). PF value positively correlated with CD34 (r = 0.68, P = 0.015), CD105 (r = 0.76, P = 0.004) and VEGF (r = 0.72, P = 0.008) in the peritumoral region. Glut4, HK2, PKM2, and MCT1 in the peritumoral regions were higher in the experimental group than in the control group (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion: IVIM parameters were correlated with MVD in the intratumoral and peritumoral regions after TACE in a rabbit liver tumor model. The angiogenesis reflected by MVD may be related to changes of glycolytic flux.

Keywords: glycolytic flux; intravoxel incoherent motion imaging; microvessel density; rabbit VX2 liver tumor; transarterial chemoembolization.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by funds from the Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 81860320; no.81960328), the Funding for innovation and Entrepreneurship of high-level overseas students in Guizhou Province [2019 01] and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (no.2020M683660XB), and the Science and Technology Project of Guizhou Provincial Health Commission (gzwkj2022-186).