title: Striatal grafts in a rat model of Huntington's disease: time course comparison of MRI and histology.
abstract: Survival and integration into the host brain of grafted tissue are crucial factors in neurotransplantation approaches. The present study explored the feasibility of using a clinical MR scanner to study striatal graft development in a rat model of Huntington's disease. Rat fetal lateral ganglionic eminences grown as free-floating roller-tube cultures were grafted into the quinolinic acid-lesioned striatum, and T1- and T2-weighted sequences were acquired at 2, 7, 21, and 99 days posttransplantation. MR images were then compared with images of corresponding histological sections. The lesion-induced striatal degeneration caused a progressive ventricle enlargement, which was significantly different from controls at 21 days posttransplantation. Seven days posttransplantation, T1-weighted images revealed a defined liquid-isointense signal surrounded by a hyperintense rim at the site of graft placement, which was found unaltered for the first 21 days posttransplantation, whereas a hypointense graft signal was detected at 99 days posttransplantation. At 2 days posttransplantation, T2-weighted images showed the graft region as a hyperintense area surrounded by a rim of low signal intensity but at later time-points graft location could not be further verified. Measures for graft size and ventricle size obtained from MR images highly correlated with measures obtained from histologically processed sections (R = 0.8, P < 0.001). In conclusion, the present study shows that fetal rat lateral ganglionic eminences grown as free-floating roller-tube cultures can be successfully grafted in a rat Huntington model and that a clinical MR scanner offers a useful noninvasive tool for studying striatal graft development.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Guzman
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Meyer
authors: K O
authors: KO
authors: Lövblad
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Ozdoba
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Schroth
authors: R W
authors: RW
authors: Seiler
authors: H R
authors: HR
authors: Widmer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016380:Brain Tissue Transplantation; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D051937:Dopamine and cAMP-Regulated Phosphoprotein 32; D005260:Female; D016332:Fetal Tissue Transplantation; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000637:transplantation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D051937:Dopamine and cAMP-Regulated Phosphoprotein 32; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase