OBJECTIVETo investigate the biochemical metabolic changes detected by phosphorus-31 MR spectroscopy ((31)P MRS) with pathologic changes in the liver of fasting rabbits.

METHODSA total of 22 rabbits were under the starvation up to death to establish animal models. Hepatic (31)P MRS was performed in different period of 10 rabbits including normal condition, over-starvation, agonal condition and death after 30 min. Other 9 rabbits were divided into three type including over-starvation, agonal condition and death group with 3 rabbits in each group, and 3 healthy rabbits served as controls. All the 12 rabbits were sacrificed for the hepatic pathological examination. The MR examination was performed on a 1.5 T imager using a 1H/31P surface coil by the 2D chemical shift imaging technique. The relative quantities of phosphomonoesters (PME), phosphodiesters (PDE), inorganic phosphate (Pi) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were measured.

RESULTSAll the relative quantification of phosphorus metabolites were changed significantly from starvation to death (X(2)=23.13-35.41, P<0.01). The relative quantifications of ATP of normal condition, over-starvation, agonal condition and death were 2.54 +/-0.53, 1.73 +/-0.14, 0.88 +/-0.23 and 0.05 +/-0.08, respectively (rs=1.0, P<0.01). The relative quantifications of PDE from normal to death were 1.25 +/-0.54, 2.76 +/-0.23, 3.33 +/-0.49 and 3.87 +/-0.43, respectively, and those of Pi were 0.42 +/-0.02, 0.65 +/-0.05, 0.89 +/-0.15 and 0.99 +/-0.08, respectively (rs=1.0, P <0.01). The relative quantifications of PME were also significantly changed (rs=0.4, P=0.6). The pathologic changes of normal condition, over-starvation, agonal condition and death: decreased size of hepatocytes, loss of cell number, cellular swelling, degeneration and cell necrosis or hepatic hemorrhage became more and more pronounced.

CONCLUSION(31)P MRS can monitor dynamic changes of relative quantification of phosphorus metabolites, which are correlated with the pathological severity of acute hepatic injury by fasting.