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Barbone GE, Bravin A, Mittone A, Pacureanu A, Mascio G, Di Pietro P, Kraiger MJ, Eckermann M, Romano M, Hrabě de Angelis M, Cloetens P, Bruno V, Battaglia G, Coan P. X-ray multiscale 3D neuroimaging to quantify cellular aging and neurodegeneration postmortem in a model of Alzheimer’s disease. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2022; 49:4338-4357. [PMID: 35852558 PMCID: PMC9606093 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-022-05896-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
Modern neuroimaging lacks the tools necessary for whole-brain, anatomically dense neuronal damage screening. An ideal approach would include unbiased histopathologic identification of aging and neurodegenerative disease.
Methods
We report the postmortem application of multiscale X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography (X-PCI-CT) for the label-free and dissection-free organ-level to intracellular-level 3D visualization of distinct single neurons and glia. In deep neuronal populations in the brain of aged wild-type and of 3xTgAD mice (a triply-transgenic model of Alzheimer’s disease), we quantified intracellular hyperdensity, a manifestation of aging or neurodegeneration.
Results
In 3xTgAD mice, the observed hyperdensity was identified as amyloid-β and hyper-phosphorylated tau protein deposits with calcium and iron involvement, by correlating the X-PCI-CT data to immunohistochemistry, X-ray fluorescence microscopy, high-field MRI, and TEM. As a proof-of-concept, X-PCI-CT was used to analyze hippocampal and cortical brain regions of 3xTgAD mice treated with LY379268, selective agonist of group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu2/3 receptors). Chronic pharmacologic activation of mGlu2/3 receptors significantly reduced the hyperdensity particle load in the ventral cortical regions of 3xTgAD mice, suggesting a neuroprotective effect with locoregional efficacy.
Conclusions
This multiscale micro-to-nano 3D imaging method based on X-PCI-CT enabled identification and quantification of cellular and sub-cellular aging and neurodegeneration in deep neuronal and glial cell populations in a transgenic model of Alzheimer’s disease. This approach quantified the localized and intracellular neuroprotective effects of pharmacological activation of mGlu2/3 receptors.
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Barbone GE, Bravin A, Mittone A, Kraiger MJ, Hrabě de Angelis M, Bossi M, Ballarini E, Rodriguez-Menendez V, Ceresa C, Cavaletti G, Coan P. Establishing sample-preparation protocols for X-ray phase-contrast CT of rodent spinal cords: Aldehyde fixations and osmium impregnation. J Neurosci Methods 2020; 339:108744. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Barbone GE, Bravin A, Romanelli P, Mittone A, Bucci D, Gaaβ T, Le Duc G, Auweter S, Reiser MF, Kraiger MJ, Hrabě de Angelis M, Battaglia G, Coan P. Micro-imaging of Brain Cancer Radiation Therapy Using Phase-contrast Computed Tomography. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2018; 101:965-984. [PMID: 29976510 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2018.03.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Revised: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Experimental neuroimaging provides a wide range of methods for the visualization of brain anatomic morphology down to subcellular detail. Still, each technique-specific detection mechanism presents compromises among the achievable field-of-view size, spatial resolution, and nervous tissue sensitivity, leading to partial sample coverage, unresolved morphologic structures, or sparse labeling of neuronal populations and often also to obligatory sample dissection or other sample invasive manipulations. X-ray phase-contrast imaging computed tomography (PCI-CT) is an experimental imaging method that simultaneously provides micrometric spatial resolution, high soft-tissue sensitivity, and ex vivo full organ rodent brain coverage without any need for sample dissection, staining or labeling, or contrast agent injection. In the present study, we explored the benefits and limitations of PCI-CT use for in vitro imaging of normal and cancerous brain neuromorphology after in vivo treatment with synchrotron-generated x-ray microbeam radiation therapy (MRT), a spatially fractionated experimental high-dose radiosurgery. The goals were visualization of the MRT effects on nervous tissue and a qualitative comparison of the results to the histologic and high-field magnetic resonance imaging findings. METHODS AND MATERIALS MRT was administered in vivo to the brain of both healthy and cancer-bearing rats. At 45 days after treatment, the brain was dissected out and imaged ex vivo using propagation-based PCI-CT. RESULTS PCI-CT visualizes the brain anatomy and microvasculature in 3 dimensions and distinguishes cancerous tissue morphology, necrosis, and intratumor accumulation of iron and calcium deposits. Moreover, PCI-CT detects the effects of MRT throughout the treatment target areas (eg, the formation of micrometer-thick radiation-induced tissue ablation). The observed neurostructures were confirmed by histologic and immunohistochemistry examination and related to the micro-magnetic resonance imaging data. CONCLUSIONS PCI-CT enabled a unique 3D neuroimaging approach for ex vivo studies on small animal models in that it concurrently delivers high-resolution insight of local brain tissue morphology in both normal and cancerous micro-milieu, localizes radiosurgical damage, and highlights the deep microvasculature. This method could assist experimental small animal neurology studies in the postmortem evaluation of neuropathology or treatment effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo E Barbone
- Department of Physics, Ludwig Maximilians University, Garching, Germany
| | - Alberto Bravin
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
| | | | | | - Domenico Bucci
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Neuropharmacology Section, I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
| | - Thomas Gaaβ
- Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Sigrid Auweter
- Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
| | - Maximilian F Reiser
- Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
| | - Markus J Kraiger
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Martin Hrabě de Angelis
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; Department of Experimental Genetics, School of Life Science Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Giuseppe Battaglia
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Neuropharmacology Section, I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
| | - Paola Coan
- Department of Physics, Ludwig Maximilians University, Garching, Germany; Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
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