bims-mricoa 2022-06-26 papers

Issue of 2022–06–26
two papers selected by
Merve Yavuz, Bilkent University

Semin Ultrasound CT MR. 2022 Aug;pii: S0887-2171(22)00033-6. [Epub ahead of print]43(4): 364-370

MRI for Liver Iron Quantification: Concepts and Current Methods.

Kathan Amin, Achille Mileto, Orpheus Kolokythas.

Liver Iron content is best correlated to total body iron stores and is thus the organ of choice for evaluation in iron overload diseases. Liver biopsy was the historic standard for iron evaluation, but the evaluation is localized, comes with increased risks due to its invasiveness, and is costly. MRI is now widely used for liver iron evaluation. The superparamagnetic properties of iron cause a disturbance in magnetic resonance imaging, which can be evaluated with various techniques. These include signal intensity ratio (SIR), T2 relaxometry, T2* relaxometry, and Dixon-based solutions. Each of the methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, and factors such as availability, ease of use, accuracy, reproducibility, and cost can all play a role in the ultimate technique used for liver iron quantification. Quantitative susceptibility mapping, and ultrashort TE sequences are promising supplemental methods, but are primarily used as research sequences. These may become more clinically accepted in the near future. Dual energy CT is also being explored as an alternative but is still in the nascent stages. Overall, accurate liver iron concentration is feasible with the current tools available at most MR imaging centers and is highly valuable for evaluation of iron overload diseases.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1053/j.sult.2022.03.006

Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jun 14. pii: 6642. [Epub ahead of print]23(12):

Approaches to Formaldehyde Measurement: From Liquid Biological Samples to Cells and Organisms.

Fedor A Lipskerov, Ekaterina V Sheshukova, Tatiana V Komarova.

Formaldehyde (FA) is the simplest aldehyde present both in the environment and in living organisms. FA is an extremely reactive compound capable of protein crosslinking and DNA damage. For a long time, FA was considered a "biochemical waste" and a by-product of normal cellular metabolism, but in recent decades the picture has changed. As a result, the need arose for novel instruments and approaches to monitor and measure not only environmental FA in water, cosmetics, and household products, but also in food, beverages and biological samples including cells and even organisms. Despite numerous protocols being developed for in vitro and in cellulo FA assessment, many of them have remained at the "proof-of-concept" stage. We analyze the suitability of different methods developed for non-biological objects, and present an overview of the recently developed approaches, including chemically-synthesized probes and genetically encoded FA-sensors for in cellulo and in vivo FA monitoring. We also discuss the prospects of classical methods such as chromatography and spectrophotometry, and how they have been adapted in response to the demand for precise, selective and highly sensitive evaluation of FA concentration fluctuations in biological samples. The main objectives of this review is to summarize data on the main approaches for FA content measurement in liquid biological samples, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each method; to report the progress in development of novel molecules suitable for application in living systems; and, finally, to discuss genetically encoded FA-sensors based on existing natural biological FA-responsive elements.

Keywords: aldehyde derivatization; aza-Cope rearrangement; fluorescent probes; formaldehyde; formaldehyde sensor

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23126642