A Simple Model for Understanding the Origin of the Amide Proton Transfer MRI Signal in Tissue

Amide proton transfer (APT) imaging is a new molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that gives contrast at the cellular protein level. To better understand the origin of the APT signal in tissue, fresh and cooked hen eggs (n = 4) were imaged at 4.7 T. The APT effect was quantified using the asymmetry in the magnetization transfer ratio (MTR _asym) at the composite amide proton resonance frequency (3.5 ppm from the water resonance). The measured APT signals were significantly higher in the fresh egg white (20.1 ± 0.9%) than in the fresh egg yolk (-1.4 ± 1.1%; P < 0.001), and in the cooked egg white (2.8 ± 0.7%; P < 0.001), all of which have similar absolute protein contents. The data support the notion that the APT effect observed in vivo is associated with mobile proteins in tissue, such as those in the cytoplasm.