Limited Contribution of T₁ Relaxation to GluCEST MRI Signal Differences Across Four Rat Models with Distinct Pathophysiological Features.

Authors

Donghoon Lee, Hind Binjaffar, Yeon Ji Chae, Chul-Woong Woo, Jung-Hyun Choi, Dong-Cheol Woo, Hyunju Ryu, Do-Wan Lee

Published in

Molecular imaging and biology. Jul 09, 2026. Epub Jul 09, 2026.

Abstract

To determine whether measured longitudinal relaxation time (T₁) differences explain glutamate-weighted CEST (GluCEST) group differences across four rat disease models associated with glutamatergic alterations.
GluCEST imaging and quantitative T₁ mapping were performed at 7T in four rat models (insomnia, depression, demyelination, and sepsis). Group differences were assessed using Welch's t-test and standardized effect sizes. The influence of T₁ on GluCEST was examined using disease-specific and pooled analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), as well as correlation analyses.
Across all models, T₁ values did not significantly differ between control and disease groups (all p ≥ 0.53), whereas GluCEST showed significant group differences in each condition (all p < 0.01) with large effect sizes (Cohen's d = 1.75-7.02). In ANCOVA models, group effects remained significant after adjustment for T₁, and T₁ was not a significant predictor of GluCEST in disease-specific or pooled analyses. No consistent correlation between T₁ and GluCEST was observed.
Under the present experimental conditions, between-group T₁ differences were limited and did not significantly explain GluCEST group separation across the four rat models examined. These findings suggest that the T₁ contribution to GluCEST group comparisons should be interpreted in relation to the biological model, the magnitude of between-group T₁ differences, and the acquisition conditions.

PMID:
42423883
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 09 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.