MRI-Based Radiomic Biomarkers for Non-invasive Assessment of Liver Fibrosis in MASLD: Diagnostic Performance and Molecular Mechanisms in a Rat Model.

Abstract

Rationale and objectives: Accurate, non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis (LF) remains a clinical challenge. This study aimed to develop a MRI-based radiomic risk score (Radscore) for staging LF and to explore the biological relevance of radiomic features using transcriptomic analysis.

Materials and methods: A total of 146 male Sprague-Dawley rats were split into two cohorts at random: 87 for training and 59 for testing. T2-weighted fat-suppressed (T2FS), proton density fat fraction (PDFF), in-phase, and out-of-phase images were among the multiparametric MRI sequences obtained. After radiomic features were collected, LASSO regression and redundancy analysis were used to create a 12-feature Radscore. The achieving area under the curve (AUC) was applied to assess the diagnostic performance of the Radscore for liver fibrosis detection (F0 vs. ≥F1) and staging (≤F2 vs. ≥F3). Additionally, 32 liver tissues underwent transcriptome sequencing. Radscore-associated genes were found using Pearson correlation, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and differential expression analysis. Functional enrichment analysis was then performed.

Results: The Radscore demonstrated robust diagnostic performance in detecting liver fibrosis, with AUC values of 0.90 in the training cohort and 0.89 in the testing cohort (F0 vs. ≥F1). For fibrosis staging (≤F2 vs. ≥F3), the AUCs were 0.97 and 0.96, respectively. Furthermore, the Radscore was positively correlated with 10 fibrosis-associated genes (e.g., Col1a1, Col1a2, Ptprc) involved in extracellular matrix remodeling and inflammatory processes. In contrast, it exhibited negative correlations with 10 genes related to mitochondrial function and vascular integrity (e.g., Ndufa7, Cox5b, Kdr).

Conclusion: The Radscore shows promise as a non-invasive imaging biomarker for liver fibrosis in MASLD. Its correlation with transcriptomic alterations indicates potential biological relevance, establishing a foundation for future studies investigating radiogenomic connections within the framework of precision medicine.