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Uselman TW, Medina CS, Gray HB, Jacobs RE, Bearer EL. Longitudinal manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of neural projections and activity. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2022; 35:e4675. [PMID: 35253280 PMCID: PMC11064873 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) holds exceptional promise for preclinical studies of brain-wide physiology in awake-behaving animals. The objectives of this review are to update the current information regarding MEMRI and to inform new investigators as to its potential. Mn(II) is a powerful contrast agent for two main reasons: (1) high signal intensity at low doses; and (2) biological interactions, such as projection tracing and neural activity mapping via entry into electrically active neurons in the living brain. High-spin Mn(II) reduces the relaxation time of water protons: at Mn(II) concentrations typically encountered in MEMRI, robust hyperintensity is obtained without adverse effects. By selectively entering neurons through voltage-gated calcium channels, Mn(II) highlights active neurons. Safe doses may be repeated over weeks to allow for longitudinal imaging of brain-wide dynamics in the same individual across time. When delivered by stereotactic intracerebral injection, Mn(II) enters active neurons at the injection site and then travels inside axons for long distances, tracing neuronal projection anatomy. Rates of axonal transport within the brain were measured for the first time in "time-lapse" MEMRI. When delivered systemically, Mn(II) enters active neurons throughout the brain via voltage-sensitive calcium channels and clears slowly. Thus behavior can be monitored during Mn(II) uptake and hyperintense signals due to Mn(II) uptake captured retrospectively, allowing pairing of behavior with neural activity maps for the first time. Here we review critical information gained from MEMRI projection mapping about human neuropsychological disorders. We then discuss results from neural activity mapping from systemic Mn(II) imaged longitudinally that have illuminated development of the tonotopic map in the inferior colliculus as well as brain-wide responses to acute threat and how it evolves over time. MEMRI posed specific challenges for image data analysis that have recently been transcended. We predict a bright future for longitudinal MEMRI in pursuit of solutions to the brain-behavior mystery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor W. Uselman
- University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | | | - Harry B. Gray
- Beckman Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Russell E. Jacobs
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Elaine L. Bearer
- University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
- Beckman Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
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Bearer EL, Zhang X, Jacobs RE. Studying Axonal Transport in the Brain by Manganese-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MEMRI). METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2022; 2431:111-142. [PMID: 35412274 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1990-2_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
From the earliest notions of dynamic movements within the cell by Leeuwenhoek, intracellular transport in eukaryotes has been primarily explored by optical imaging. The giant axon of the squid became a prime experimental model for imaging transport due to its size, optical transparency, and physiological robustness. Even the biochemical basis of transport was identified using optical assays based on video microscopy of fractionated squid axoplasm. Discoveries about the dynamics and molecular components of the intracellular transport system continued in many model organisms that afforded experimental systems for optical imaging. Yet whether these experimental systems reflected a valid picture of axonal transport in the opaque mammalian brain was unknown.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a non-destructive approach to peer into opaque tissues like the brain . The paramagnetic ion, manganese (MnII), gives a hyperintense signal in T1 weighted MRI that can serve as a marker for axonal transport. Mn(II) enters active neurons via voltage-gated calcium channels and is transported via microtubule motors down their axons by fast axonal transport. Clearance of Mn(II) is slow. Scanning live animals at successive time points reveals the dynamics of Mn(II) transport by detecting Mn(II)-induced intensity increases or accumulations along a known fiber tract, such as the optic nerve or hippocampal-forebrain projections. Mn(II)-based tract tracing also reveals projections even when not in fiber bundles, such as projections in the olfactory system or from medial prefrontal cortex into midbrain and brain stem. The rate of Mn(II) accumulation, detected as increased signal intensity by MR, serves as a proxy for transport rates. Here we describe the method for measuring transport rates and projections by mangeses-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, MEMRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine L Bearer
- Department Pathology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
- Biology and Biological Engineering and the Beckman Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Xiaowei Zhang
- Department of Radiology, UC San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Russell E Jacobs
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Cloyd RA, Koren SA, Abisambra JF. Manganese-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Overview and Central Nervous System Applications With a Focus on Neurodegeneration. Front Aging Neurosci 2018; 10:403. [PMID: 30618710 PMCID: PMC6300587 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) rose to prominence in the 1990s as a sensitive approach to high contrast imaging. Following the discovery of manganese conductance through calcium-permeable channels, MEMRI applications expanded to include functional imaging in the central nervous system (CNS) and other body systems. MEMRI has since been employed in the investigation of physiology in many animal models and in humans. Here, we review historical perspectives that follow the evolution of applied MRI research into MEMRI with particular focus on its potential toxicity. Furthermore, we discuss the more current in vivo investigative uses of MEMRI in CNS investigations and the brief but decorated clinical usage of chelated manganese compound mangafodipir in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan A Cloyd
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.,College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.,Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Shon A Koren
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.,Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.,Department of Neuroscience & Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Jose F Abisambra
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.,Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.,Department of Neuroscience & Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
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Poole DS, Plenge E, Poot DHJ, Lakke EAJF, Niessen WJ, Meijering E, van der Weerd L. Three-dimensional inversion recovery manganese-enhanced MRI of mouse brain using super-resolution reconstruction to visualize nuclei involved in higher brain function. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2014; 27:749-759. [PMID: 24817644 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.3108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2013] [Revised: 03/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/11/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The visualization of activity in mouse brain using inversion recovery spin echo (IR-SE) manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) provides unique contrast, but suffers from poor resolution in the slice-encoding direction. Super-resolution reconstruction (SRR) is a resolution-enhancing post-processing technique in which multiple low-resolution slice stacks are combined into a single volume of high isotropic resolution using computational methods. In this study, we investigated, first, whether SRR can improve the three-dimensional resolution of IR-SE MEMRI in the slice selection direction, whilst maintaining or improving the contrast-to-noise ratio of the two-dimensional slice stacks. Second, the contrast-to-noise ratio of SRR IR-SE MEMRI was compared with a conventional three-dimensional gradient echo (GE) acquisition. Quantitative experiments were performed on a phantom containing compartments of various manganese concentrations. The results showed that, with comparable scan times, the signal-to-noise ratio of three-dimensional GE acquisition is higher than that of SRR IR-SE MEMRI. However, the contrast-to-noise ratio between different compartments can be superior with SRR IR-SE MEMRI, depending on the chosen inversion time. In vivo experiments were performed in mice receiving manganese using an implanted osmotic pump. The results showed that SRR works well as a resolution-enhancing technique in IR-SE MEMRI experiments. In addition, the SRR image also shows a number of brain structures that are more clearly discernible from the surrounding tissues than in three-dimensional GE acquisition, including a number of nuclei with specific higher brain functions, such as memory, stress, anxiety and reward behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana S Poole
- C. J. Gorter Center for High Field MRI, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
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Sun SW, Campbell B, Lunderville C, Won E, Liang HF. Noninvasive topical loading for manganese-enhanced MRI of the mouse visual system. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2011; 52:3914-20. [PMID: 21421878 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.10-6363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To evaluate topical loading as an alternative to intravitreal injection for Mn(2+)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) of the visual system. METHODS Topical administration of 0.5 to 1.5 M MnCl(2) and intravitreal injections with 0.5 μL 100 mM and 2 μL 1 M MnCl(2) for mouse MEMRI were conducted, followed by immunohistochemistry. In another mouse group, two topical administrations of 1 M Mn(2+) were applied to the same animals 7 days apart, to evaluate the use of MEMRI in a time course study. Dynamic imaging was also conducted to reveal how Mn(2+) travels to the retina. MEMRI with topically loaded MnCl(2) was also conducted in eyes with retinal ischemia, to evaluate whether the enhancements required healthy neurons. RESULTS After 1 day, topical administration of 1 M and 1.5 M MnCl(2) rendered significant signal enhancement (up to 20%) in the superior colliculus (P < 0.05) that was equivalent to that of the 2-μL 1 M injection. Repeated exposure to Mn(2+) showed reproduced enhancement. Dynamic imaging showed significant enhancement in the iris, retina, and lens boundary, but not in the vitreous space. In retinal ischemic eyes, no enhancement of MEMRI was detected in the optic nerves. The immunohistochemistry of the optic nerve (1.5 mm anterior to the chiasm) and retina showed no injury 1 week after Mn(2+) topical administrations to each mouse. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrated the feasibility of using topical administration of Mn(2+) for MEMRI. Topically loaded Mn(2+) did not diffuse into the vitreous space, but was it may have been absorbed into the iris to diffuse or travel via the capillary circulation to reach the retina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Wei Sun
- Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
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De Groof G, Gwinner H, Steiger S, Kempenaers B, Van der Linden A. Neural correlates of behavioural olfactory sensitivity changes seasonally in European starlings. PLoS One 2010; 5:e14337. [PMID: 21179464 PMCID: PMC3002280 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2010] [Accepted: 11/24/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Possibly due to the small size of the olfactory bulb (OB) as compared to rodents, it was generally believed that songbirds lack a well-developed sense of smell. This belief was recently revised by several studies showing that various bird species, including passerines, use olfaction in many respects of life. During courtship and nest building, male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) incorporate aromatic herbs that are rich in volatile compounds (e.g., milfoil, Achillea millefolium) into the nests and they use olfactory cues to identify these plants. Interestingly, European starlings show seasonal differences in their ability to respond to odour cues: odour sensitivity peaks during nest-building in the spring, but is almost non-existent during the non-breeding season. Methodology/Principal Findings This study used repeated in vivo Manganese-enhanced MRI to quantify for the first time possible seasonal changes in the anatomy and activity of the OB in starling brains. We demonstrated that the OB of the starling exhibits a functional seasonal plasticity of certain plant odour specificity and that the OB is only able to detect milfoil odour during the breeding season. Volumetric analysis showed that this seasonal change in activity is not linked to a change in OB volume. By subsequently experimentally elevating testosterone (T) in half of the males during the non-breeding season we showed that the OB volume was increased compared to controls. Conclusions/Significance By investigating the neural substrate of seasonal olfactory sensitivity changes we show that the starlings' OB loses its ability during the non-breeding season to detect a natural odour of a plant preferred as green nest material by male starlings. We found that testosterone, applied during the non-breeding season, does not restore the discriminatory ability of the OB but has an influence on its size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geert De Groof
- Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
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MRI protocol for in vivo visualization of the Göttingen minipig brain improves targeting in experimental functional neurosurgery. Brain Res Bull 2009; 79:41-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2009.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2008] [Revised: 12/06/2008] [Accepted: 01/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Van der Linden A, Van Meir V, Boumans T, Poirier C, Balthazart J. MRI in small brains displaying extensive plasticity. Trends Neurosci 2009; 32:257-66. [PMID: 19307029 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2009.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2008] [Revised: 12/18/2008] [Accepted: 01/06/2009] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (ME-MRI), blood oxygen-level-dependent functional MRI (BOLD fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can now be applied to animal species as small as mice or songbirds. These techniques confirmed previous findings but are also beginning to reveal new phenomena that were difficult or impossible to study previously. These imaging techniques will lead to major technical and conceptual advances in systems neurosciences. We illustrate these new developments with studies of the song control and auditory systems in songbirds, a spatially organized neuronal circuitry that mediates the acquisition, production and perception of complex learned vocalizations. This neural system is an outstanding model for studying vocal learning, brain steroid hormone action, brain plasticity and lateralization of brain function.
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Guy J. MRI in experimental inflammatory and mitochondrial optic neuropathies. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2008; 21:968-977. [PMID: 18756439 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.1309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
MRI is a powerful tool for evaluating structural and functional alterations in the optic nerve in experimental animal models of human disease. MRI-histopathological correlations have provided important insights into the pathogenesis of disease. Paramagnetic contrast agents have been used to serially visualize the foci and severity of disruption of the blood-optic nerve barrier and physiological neuronal alterations in living animals. Here I review the experience of our group in optic nerve imaging of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and neurodegeneration induced by genetic manipulation of respiratory chain enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Guy
- Department of Ophthalmology and Neurology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
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Abstract
The metal manganese is a potent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent that is essential in cell biology. Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) is providing unique information in an ever-growing number of applications aimed at understanding the anatomy, the integration, and the function of neural circuits both in normal brain physiology as well as in translational models of brain disease. A major drawback to the use of manganese as a contrast agent, however, is its cellular toxicity. Therefore, paramount to the successful application of MEMRI is the ability to deliver Mn2+ to the site of interest using as low a dose as possible while preserving detectability by MRI. In the present work, the different approaches to MEMRI in translational neuroimaging are reviewed and challenges for future identified from a practical standpoint.
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Affiliation(s)
- Afonso C. Silva
- Cerebral Microcirculation Unit, Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA,To whom correspondence should be addressed: Cerebral Microcirculation Unit, Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive MSC1065, Building 10, Room B1D106, Bethesda, MD 20892-1065; tel: 301-402-9703, fax: 301-480-2558, e-mail:
| | - Nicholas A. Bock
- Cerebral Microcirculation Unit, Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Poirier C, Vellema M, Verhoye M, Van Meir V, Wild JM, Balthazart J, Van Der Linden A. A three-dimensional MRI atlas of the zebra finch brain in stereotaxic coordinates. Neuroimage 2008; 41:1-6. [PMID: 18358743 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.01.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2007] [Revised: 01/28/2008] [Accepted: 01/30/2008] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The neurobiology of birdsong, as a model for human speech, is a fast growing area of research in the neurosciences and involves electrophysiological, histological and more recently magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approaches. Many of these studies require the identification and localization of different brain areas (nuclei) involved in the sensory and motor control of song. Until now, the only published atlases of songbird brains consisted in drawings based on histological slices of the canary and of the zebra finch brain. Taking advantage of high-magnetic field (7 Tesla) MRI technique, we present the first high-resolution (80 x 160 x 160 microm) 3-D digital atlas in stereotaxic coordinates of a male zebra finch brain, the most widely used species in the study of birdsong neurobiology. Image quality allowed us to discern most of the song control, auditory and visual nuclei. The atlas can be freely downloaded from our Web site and can be interactively explored with MRIcro. This zebra finch MRI atlas should become a very useful tool for neuroscientists working on birdsong, especially for co-registrating MRI data but also for determining accurately the optimal coordinates and angular approach for injections or electrophysiological recordings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colline Poirier
- Bio-Imaging Lab, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
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Abstract
Manganese is a strong magnetic resonance imaging relaxation agent with unique biological properties that make it suitable for in vivo studies of neuroachitecture, neuronal tracts and neuronal function in animals. However, in humans large doses of manganese are neurotoxic and cause damage, primarily to the basal ganglia, resulting in a form of parkinsonism termed manganism. If low doses can be safely used and detected in the human brain, manganese will provide insight into neuroanatomy, connectivity, function and neuropathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas A Bock
- National Institutes of Health, Cerebral Microcirculation Unit, Laboratory of Functional & Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke, 10 Center Drive, Building 10, Room BD109, Bethesda, MD 20892-1065, USA
| | - Afonso C Silva
- National Institutes of Health, Cerebral Microcirculation Unit, Laboratory of Functional & Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke, 10 Center Drive, Building 10, Room BD109, Bethesda, MD 20892-1065, USA
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Bilgen M. Imaging corticospinal tract connectivity in injured rat spinal cord using manganese-enhanced MRI. BMC Med Imaging 2006; 6:15. [PMID: 17112375 PMCID: PMC1660558 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2342-6-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2006] [Accepted: 11/17/2006] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Manganese-enhanced MRI (MEI) offers a novel neuroimaging modality to trace corticospinal tract (CST) in live animals. This paper expands this capability further and tests the utility of MEI to image axonal fiber connectivity in CST of injured spinal cord (SC). Methods A rat was injured at the thoracic T4 level of the SC. The CST was labeled with manganese (Mn) injected intracortically at two weeks post injury. Next day, the injured SC was imaged using MEI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) modalities. Results In vivo MEI data obtained from cervical SC confirmed that CST was successfully labeled with Mn. Ex vivo MEI data obtained from excised SC depicted Mn labeling of the CST in SC sections caudal to the lesion, which meant that Mn was transported through the injury, possibly mediated by viable CST fibers present at the injury site. Examining the ex vivo data from the injury epicenter closely revealed a thin strip of signal enhancement located ventrally between the dorsal horns. This enhancement was presumably associated with the Mn accumulation in these intact fibers projecting caudally as part of the CST. Additional measurements with DTI supported this view. Conclusion Combining these preliminary results collectively demonstrated the feasibility of imaging fiber connectivity in experimentally injured SC using MEI. This approach may play important role in future investigations aimed at understanding the neuroplasticity in experimental SCI research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Bilgen
- High Field MRI Research Laboratory, The University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
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