TY - JOUR
KW - Imaging
KW - Magnetic Resonance Imaging
KW - Predictive markers
KW - Preterm birth
KW - translational research
AU - Wenjie Wu
AU - Zhexian Sun
AU - Hansong Gao
AU - Yuan Nan
AU - Stephanie Pizzella
AU - Haonan Xu
AU - Josephine Lau
AU - Yiqi Lin
AU - Hui Wang
AU - Pamela K. Woodard
AU - Hannah R. Krigman
AU - Qing Wang
AU - Yong Wang
AB - Cervical softening and dilation are critical for the successful term delivery of a fetus, with premature changes associated with preterm birth. Traditional clinical measures like transvaginal ultrasound and Bishop scores fall short in predicting preterm births and elucidating the cervix’s complex microstructural changes. Here, we introduce a magnetic resonance diffusion basis spectrum imaging (DBSI) technique for non-invasive, comprehensive imaging of cervical cellularity, collagen, and muscle fibers. This method is validated through ex vivo DBSI and histological analyses of specimens from total hysterectomies. Subsequently, retrospective in vivo DBSI analysis at 32 weeks of gestation in ten term deliveries and seven preterm deliveries with inflammation-related conditions shows distinct microstructural differences between the groups, alongside significant correlations with delivery timing. These results highlight DBSI’s potential to improve understanding of premature cervical remodeling and aid in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions for at-risk pregnancies. Future studies will further assess DBSI’s clinical applicability.
BT - Nature Communications
DA - 2024-07-19
DO - 10.1038/s41467-024-48680-9
IS - 1
LA - en
N2 - Cervical softening and dilation are critical for the successful term delivery of a fetus, with premature changes associated with preterm birth. Traditional clinical measures like transvaginal ultrasound and Bishop scores fall short in predicting preterm births and elucidating the cervix’s complex microstructural changes. Here, we introduce a magnetic resonance diffusion basis spectrum imaging (DBSI) technique for non-invasive, comprehensive imaging of cervical cellularity, collagen, and muscle fibers. This method is validated through ex vivo DBSI and histological analyses of specimens from total hysterectomies. Subsequently, retrospective in vivo DBSI analysis at 32 weeks of gestation in ten term deliveries and seven preterm deliveries with inflammation-related conditions shows distinct microstructural differences between the groups, alongside significant correlations with delivery timing. These results highlight DBSI’s potential to improve understanding of premature cervical remodeling and aid in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions for at-risk pregnancies. Future studies will further assess DBSI’s clinical applicability.
PY - 2024
EP - 5942
T2 - Nature Communications
TI - Whole cervix imaging of collagen, muscle, and cellularity in term and preterm pregnancy
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-48680-9
VL - 15
Y2 - 2026-01-07
SN - 2041-1723
ER -