Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Hepatospecific MRI Contrast Agent Flux in Large Animal Models by Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSE: Evaluate the feasibility of using dogs and a pig as translational models for assessing hepatic flux of hepatospecific gadolinium-based contrast agents using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). PROCEDURES: DCE-MRI was performed with hepatospecific agents, gadoxetate disodium (Gd-EOB-DTPA) and gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA), and non-hepatospecific agents. Two validated pharmacokinetic models were applied: a single-input reference region model and a dual-input model using arterial and venous blood signals. RESULTS: In dogs, hepatic enhancement rose rapidly and plateaued after Gd-EOB-DTPA administration, with minimal decline over an hour. In the pig, both hepatospecific agents showed a rapid rise, blunt peak, and gradual decline. The single-input model revealed significantly higher uptake rates for hepatospecific agents, confirming its sensitivity to hepatocyte uptake. The dual-input model effectively distinguished contrast agent dynamics in dogs and showed promise in the pig. CONCLUSIONS: In this feasibility study, the enhancement dynamics observed and pharmacokinetic estimates computed in both dogs and a pig fell broadly within ranges reported in human studies, supporting their potential utility as translational large-animal models. Definitive comparison of species similarity to humans will require direct paired evaluation under matched conditions.
Source: Molecular Imaging and Biology
Institutions: Michigan State University, The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,190
OpenAlex ID: W7169767542