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Wang H, Blanke N, Gong D, Ortug A, Alatorre Warren JL, Clickner C, Ammon W, Nolan J, Cotronis Z, van der Kouwe A, Takahashi E. Imaging of developing human brains with ex vivo PSOCT and dMRI. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.27.605383. [PMID: 39211119 PMCID: PMC11361116 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.27.605383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
The human brain undergoes substantial developmental changes in the first five years of life. Particularly in the white matter, myelination of axons occurs near birth and continues at a rapid pace during the first 2 to 3 years. Diffusion MRI (dMRI) has revolutionized our understanding of developmental trajectories in white matter. However, the mm-resolution of in vivo techniques bears significant limitation in revealing the microstructure of the developing brain. Polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PSOCT) is a three-dimensional (3D) optical imaging technique that uses polarized light interferometry to target myelinated fiber tracts with micrometer resolution. Previous studies have shown that PSOCT contributes significantly to the elucidation of myelin content and quantification of fiber orientation in adult human brains. In this study, we utilized the PSOCT technique to study developing brains during the first 5 years of life in combination with ex vivo dMRI. The results showed that the optical properties of PSOCT quantitatively reveal the myelination process in young children. The imaging contrast of the optic axis orientation is a sensitive measure of fiber orientations in largely unmyelinated brains as young as 3-months-old. The micrometer resolution of PSOCT provides substantially enriched information about complex fiber networks and complements submillimeter dMRI. This new optical tool offers great potential to reveal the white matter structures in normal neurodevelopment and developmental disorders in unprecedented detail.
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Stowe NA, Singh AP, Barnett BR, Yi SY, Frautschi PC, Messing A, Hagemann TL, Yu JPJ. Quantitative diffusion imaging and genotype-by-sex interactions in a rat model of Alexander disease. Magn Reson Med 2024; 91:1087-1098. [PMID: 37946544 PMCID: PMC10842025 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The clinical diagnosis and classification of Alexander disease (AxD) relies in part on qualitative neuroimaging biomarkers; however, these biomarkers fail to distinguish and discriminate different subtypes of AxD, especially in the presence of overlap in clinical symptoms. To address this gap in knowledge, we applied neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to an innovative CRISPR-Cas9 rat genetic model of AxD to gain quantitative insights into the neural substrates and brain microstructural changes seen in AxD and to potentially identify novel quantitative NODDI biomarkers of AxD. METHODS Multi-shell DWI of age- and sex-matched AxD and wild-type Sprague Dawley rats (n = 6 per sex per genotype) was performed and DTI and NODDI measures calculated. A 3 × 2 × 2 analysis of variance model was used to determine the effect of genotype, biological sex, and laterality on quantitative measures of DTI and NODDI across regions of interest implicated in AxD. RESULTS There is a significant effect of genotype in the amygdala, hippocampus, neocortex, and thalamus in measures of both DTI and NODDI brain microstructure. A genotype by biological sex interaction was identified in DTI and NODDI measures in the corpus callosum, hippocampus, and neocortex. CONCLUSION We present the first application of NODDI to the study of AxD using a rat genetic model of AxD. Our analysis identifies alterations in NODDI and DTI measures to large white matter tracts and subcortical gray nuclei. We further identified genotype by sex interactions, suggesting a possible role for biological sex in the neuropathogenesis of AxD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas A Stowe
- Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Ajay P Singh
- Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Brian R Barnett
- Neuroscience Training Program, Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Sue Y Yi
- Neuroscience Training Program, Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Paloma C Frautschi
- Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Albee Messing
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Tracy L Hagemann
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - John-Paul J Yu
- Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Neuroscience Training Program, Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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Ortug A, Valli B, Alatorre Warren JL, Shiohama T, van der Kouwe A, Takahashi E. Brain Pathways in LIS1-Associated Lissencephaly Revealed by Diffusion MRI Tractography. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1655. [PMID: 38137102 PMCID: PMC10742067 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13121655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Lissencephaly (LIS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with severe symptoms caused by abnormal neuronal migration during cortical development. It is caused by both genetic and non-genetic factors. Despite frequent studies about the cortex, comprehensive elucidation of structural abnormalities and their effects on the white matter is limited. The main objective of this study is to analyze abnormal neuronal migration pathways and white matter fiber organization in LIS1-associated LIS using diffusion MRI (dMRI) tractography. For this purpose, slabs of brain specimens with LIS (n = 3) and age and sex-matched controls (n = 4) were scanned with 3T dMRI. Our high-resolution ex vivo dMRI successfully identified common abnormalities across the samples. The results revealed an abnormal increase in radially oriented subcortical fibers likely associated with radial migration pathways and u-fibers and a decrease in association fibers in all LIS specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alpen Ortug
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA; (A.O.)
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Briana Valli
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - José Luis Alatorre Warren
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA; (A.O.)
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Tadashi Shiohama
- Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8677, Japan
| | - Andre van der Kouwe
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA; (A.O.)
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Emi Takahashi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA; (A.O.)
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Tsujimura K, Shiohama T, Takahashi E. microRNA Biology on Brain Development and Neuroimaging Approach. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12101366. [PMID: 36291300 PMCID: PMC9599180 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12101366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Proper brain development requires the precise coordination and orchestration of various molecular and cellular processes and dysregulation of these processes can lead to neurological diseases. In the past decades, post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression has been shown to contribute to various aspects of brain development and function in the central nervous system. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), short non-coding RNAs, are emerging as crucial players in post-transcriptional gene regulation in a variety of tissues, such as the nervous system. In recent years, miRNAs have been implicated in multiple aspects of brain development, including neurogenesis, migration, axon and dendrite formation, and synaptogenesis. Moreover, altered expression and dysregulation of miRNAs have been linked to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful imaging technology to obtain high-quality, detailed structural and functional information from the brains of human and animal models in a non-invasive manner. Because the spatial expression patterns of miRNAs in the brain, unlike those of DNA and RNA, remain largely unknown, a whole-brain imaging approach using MRI may be useful in revealing biological and pathological information about the brain affected by miRNAs. In this review, we highlight recent advancements in the research of miRNA-mediated modulation of neuronal processes that are important for brain development and their involvement in disease pathogenesis. Also, we overview each MRI technique, and its technological considerations, and discuss the applications of MRI techniques in miRNA research. This review aims to link miRNA biological study with MRI analytical technology and deepen our understanding of how miRNAs impact brain development and pathology of neurological diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keita Tsujimura
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Group of Brain Function and Development, Nagoya University Neuroscience Institute of the Graduate School of Science, Nagoya 4648602, Japan
- Research Unit for Developmental Disorders, Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 4648602, Japan
- Correspondence: (K.T.); (E.T.)
| | - Tadashi Shiohama
- Department of Pediatrics, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba 2608677, Japan
| | - Emi Takahashi
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Correspondence: (K.T.); (E.T.)
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