MRI and 1H MRS evaluation for the serial bile duct changes in hamsters after infection with Opisthorchis viverrini

A 3 T MR scanner was used to investigate the relationship between the alteration of bile duct lesions and the hepatic metabolic changes in hamsters infected with Opisthorchis viverrini by using 3 T MRI and 1H MR spectroscopy. Animals were divided into control and infected groups. Five normal hamsters were used as control; fifty-five hamsters were infected with O. viverrini to induce bile duct lesions and hepatic metabolic changes. T2-weighted image sequence in three orthogonal planes were conducted by MRI scans. Single-voxel 1H MRS was performed to obtain the relative choline-to-lipid ratios. The livers and bile ducts were excised for the histologic examination. The progression of bile duct changes by histology and metabolic changes in O. viverrini infected hamsters were co-investigated. In the O. viverrini-infected group, the T2-weighted images revealed the time-dependent intra- and extra-hepatic duct dilatations in the liver. The mean (± SD) choline-to-lipid ratios were 0.11 ± 0.035 in the control group, whereas the ratio in the infected group increased significantly with the progression of time. Histologic grading of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis were correlated well with the MRI grading (Spearman rank correlation test; r = 0.746 and p < 0.001). The control group showed no dilatation of the bile ducts and showed normal liver patterns. Noninvasive technique, MRI and 1H MRS can demonstrated and applied to evaluate not only the inflammation-related fibrosis in the small bile ducts but also the metabolic changes in the liver induced by O. viverrini infection. A significant increase in the choline-to-lipids ratios were observed in parallel with the time-course of infection. O. viverrini infected in human is detected by stool examination. Hepatobiliary morbidity is detected and followed up by ultrasonography. MRI and MRS can be used in conjunction with ultrasonography for evaluation of progression of the disease.