Imbalance between renal oxygen delivery and demand in the first hours after reperfusion is suggested to be decisive in the pathophysiological chain of events leading to ischemia-induced acute kidney injury. Here we describe blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for continuous monitoring of the deoxyhemoglobin-sensitive MR parameter T 2* in the renal cortex, outer medulla, and inner medulla of rats throughout renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Changes during I/R are benchmarked against the effects of variations in the fraction of inspired oxygen (hypoxia, hyperoxia). This method may be useful for investigating renal blood oxygenation of rats in vivo under various experimental (patho)physiological conditions.
Keywords: Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD); Hyperoxia; Hypoxia; Ischemia; Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); Oxygenation; Rats.