Correlations between DWI, IVIM, and HIF-1α expression based on MRI and pathology in a murine model of rhabdomyosarcoma

Zhenzhen Yin; Xiangwen Li; Yu Zhang; Juan Tao; Yanyu Yang; Shaobo Fang; Zhengyang Zhang; Yuan Yuan; Yajie Liu; Shaowu Wang

doi:10.1002/mrm.29250

Correlations between DWI, IVIM, and HIF-1α expression based on MRI and pathology in a murine model of rhabdomyosarcoma

Magn Reson Med. 2022 Aug;88(2):871-879. doi: 10.1002/mrm.29250. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Authors

Zhenzhen Yin^{1

2}, Xiangwen Li³, Yu Zhang¹, Juan Tao⁴, Yanyu Yang¹, Shaobo Fang¹, Zhengyang Zhang¹, Yuan Yuan¹, Yajie Liu¹, Shaowu Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, The Second Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Radiology, Suzhou Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Suzhou, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Department of Pathology, The Second Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 35377480
DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29250

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the correlation between DWI, intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM), and hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) expression in a nude mouse model of rhabdomyosarcoma based on imaging and pathological comparisons.

Methods: Human rhabdomyosarcoma-derived (RD) cells were inoculated into the right thigh muscle of 20 BALB/c female nude mice. Mice were imaged using 3.0 Tesla MRI system. T₁ -weighted imaging, T₂ -weighted imaging, DWI, and IVIM images were obtained. ADW4.7 (GE Healthcare, ChicagoAQ34, IL, USA) was used for image processing of ADC, D_slow , D_fast , and f values. All parameter values were independently analyzed by 2 observers. Immunohistochemistry of HIF-1α was performed. We used a specific image-pathology comparison method to ensure correct overlap between the image plane and the pathological section. Mann-Whitney U test or independent sample t test, Pearson or Spearman correlation test, the intragroup correlation coefficient, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and receiver operating characteristic curve were used. The correlation between DWI and intravoxel incoherent motion parameter values and HIF-1α expression was determined.

Results: There were 10 mice in the low-expression group and 7 in the high-expression group. The ADC and D_slow values were negatively correlated with HIF-1α with correlation coefficients of -0.491 and - 0.702 (P = 0.045 and 0.002). The f value positively correlated with HIF-1α expression (r = 0.485, P = 0.048). ADC, D_slow , and f were significantly different between the high-HIF-1α expression tumors and the low-HIF-1α expression tumors. ADC showed the best predictive performance among all parameters (area under the curve = 0.652, sensitivity = 83.3%, specificity = 63.6%).

Conclusion: The parameter values of DWI and intravoxel incoherent motion can be used to evaluate the expression of HIF-1α in rhabdomyosarcoma. ADC, D_slow , and f value showed correlation with the expression of HIF-1α.

Keywords: DWI; HIF-1α; IVIM; mice; rhabdomyosarcoma.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging* / methods
Disease Models, Animal
Female
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Mice
Mice, Nude
Motion
Rhabdomyosarcoma* / diagnostic imaging