EchoMRI

Brigham And Women'S Hospital, Boston MA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This application requests funds to purchase the EchoMRI-3in1™ whole body and tissue composition analyzer, a critical tool to support the analysis and interpretation of metabolic data generated from the Comprehensive Laboratory Animal Monitoring System (CLAMS) in the Brigham and Women's (BWH) Metabolic Core. There is an urgency to understand the origins and consequences of metabolic dysfunction, which is at the forefront of many diseases, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, immunological, and neurological diseases. Alterations in body composition, systemic thermogenesis, metabolic rate, macronutrient utilization, food intake, and physical activity underpins homeostatic and pathophysiological metabolic states. Current BWH Metabolic Core researchers who utilize the CLAMS and other core services have successfully identified mechanisms of metabolic dysfunction in a variety of genetically modified mouse models, in response to dietary interventions and in a broad spectrum of research fields, including immunology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and endocrinology. The use of the EchoMRI is just as equally needed for the numerous investigators that require body composition analysis to interpret data related to adiposity and lean mass. The CLAMS is the gold standard in metabolic research for assessing systemic metabolism; however, a significant analytical challenge to the interpretation of CLAMS data is an appropriate normalization for body weight. The contribution of fat mass versus lean mass to thermogenesis is significantly different; therefore, including a highly variable fat mass when normalizing a mass-dependent metabolic parameter to whole body weight can confound estimates of thermogenesis. This approach has led to the misidentification of aberrant metabolic phenotypes. The metabolic field is making a substantial effort to address this issue by bringing attention to the necessity of normalizing metabolic parameters to lean mass and account for fat mass. The EchoMRI measures precise body composition of fat, lean, free water, and total water masses in a rapid, non- invasive manner and can measure organs and tissue samples of up to 7 grams and biopsy samples of up to 0.3 grams. Procurement of the EchoMRI will fulfill a critical much-needed component to complement the 24 CLAMS cages currently in operation in the Metabolic Core. Analyzing CLAMS metabolic data without whole- body composition can limit data interpretation and impede more robust and thorough conclusions. The EchoMRI can and will be used independently of CLAMS experiments.