Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agent Toxicity Study

All methods were carried out in compliance with relevant guidelines and the study was approved by the University of New Mexico’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC, protocol 21-201088-HSC, Animal Welfare Assurance # D16-00228, A3350-01, USDA Registration # 85-R-0014). Sex-matched wild-type C57/BL6 mice were randomized by weight into untreated (n = 10) or gadolinium-based contrast agent treatment (Omniscan, n = 10) groups^{13 –18 (link),20 ,21 (link)}. Male C57/BL6 mice weighed 27 g, whereas female C57/BL6 mice weighed 20 g and were 6–8 weeks of age at the start of the experiment. The contrast agent Omniscan was injected intraperitoneally at a dose of 2.5 mmol per kilogram body weight. This dose is equivalent to twice the clinically approved human dose (human equivalent dose) after adjustment for body surface area and is in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration Guidance for Industry²⁹ . Injections were administered 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The experiments adhered to the ARRIVE guidelines.