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Bontempi P, Piccolantonio G, Busato A, Conti A, Angelini G, Lopez N, Bani A, Constantin G, Marzola P. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals functional connectivity alteration in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model of multiple sclerosis. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2024; 37:e5127. [PMID: 38450807 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.5127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune degenerative disease targeting white matter in the central nervous system. The most common animal model that mimics MS is experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and it plays a crucial role in pharmacological research, from the identification of a therapeutic target to the in vivo validation of efficacy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is largely used to detect MS lesions, and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) to investigate alterations in the brain functional connectivity (FC). MRI was mainly used in EAE studies to detect lesions in the spinal cord and brain. The current longitudinal MRI study aims to validate rsfMRI as a biomarker of the disease progression in the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 35-55 induced EAE animal model of MS. MR images were acquired 14, 25, and 50 days postimmunization. Seed-based analysis was used to investigate the whole-brain FC with some predefined areas, such as the thalamic regions, cerebellum, motor and somatosensory cortex. When compared with the control group, the EAE group exhibited a slightly altered FC and a decreasing trend in the total number of activated voxels along the disease progression. The most interesting result regards the whole-brain FC with the cerebellum. A hyperconnectivity behavior was found at an early phase and a significant reduced connectivity at a late phase. Moreover, we found a negative correlation between the total number of activated voxels during the late phase and the cumulative disease index. The results obtained provide a clinically relevant experimental platform that may be pivotal for the elucidation of the key mechanisms of accumulation of irreversible disability, as well as the development of innovative therapies for MS. Moreover, the negative correlation between the disease severity and the size of the activated area suggests a possible research pathway to follow for the resolution of the clinico-radiological paradox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Bontempi
- Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Giusi Piccolantonio
- Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Alice Busato
- Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- Evotec Company, Verona, Italy
| | - Anita Conti
- Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Lopez
- Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | | | - Pasquina Marzola
- Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
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Frank D, Gruenbaum BF, Shelef I, Zvenigorodsky V, Benjamin Y, Shapoval O, Gal R, Zlotnik A, Melamed I, Boyko M. A Novel Histological Technique to Assess Severity of Traumatic Brain Injury in Rodents: Comparisons to Neuroimaging and Neurological Outcomes. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:733115. [PMID: 34720861 PMCID: PMC8549653 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.733115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Here we evaluate an alternative protocol to histologically examine blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, brain edema, and lesion volume following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the same set of rodent brain samples. We further compare this novel histological technique to measurements determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a neurological severity score (NSS). Sixty-six rats were randomly assigned to a sham-operated, mild TBI, moderate TBI, or severe TBI group. 48 h after TBI, NSS, MRI and histological techniques were performed to measure TBI severity outcome. Both the histological and MRI techniques were able to detect measurements of severity outcome, but histologically determined outcomes were more sensitive. The two most sensitive techniques for determining the degree of injury following TBI were NSS and histologically determined BBB breakdown. Our results demonstrate that BBB breakdown, brain edema, and lesion volume following TBI can be accurately measured by histological evaluation of the same set of brain samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Frank
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Benjamin F Gruenbaum
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, United States
| | - Ilan Shelef
- Department of Radiology, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Vladislav Zvenigorodsky
- Department of Radiology, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Yair Benjamin
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Olha Shapoval
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Ecology and Medicine, Dnepropetrovsk State University, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
| | - Ron Gal
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Alexander Zlotnik
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Israel Melamed
- Department of Neurosurgery, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Matthew Boyko
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
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