Enhanced delineation of white matter structures of the fixed mouse brain using Gd-DTPA in microscopic MRI.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gadolinium (III) diethyltriaminepenta-acetic acid (Gd-DTPA) mixed with a fixative on the image contrast between the white and gray matter of the perfusion-fixed mouse brain. A series of microscopic MRI (microMRI) studies using different concentrations of Gd-DTPA were performed at multiple time points to determine the optimal Gd-DTPA concentration and fixation time necessary to maximize the contrast-to-noise ratio between the white and gray matter with relatively short scan time using a three-dimensional gradient-echo pulse sequence. On the basis of the experimental results, high-resolution (39 microm isotropic) images with excellent contrast-to-noise ratio ( approximately 50) were acquired in less than 2 h of scan time after the specimen had been soaked in 10 mM Gd-DTPA for 4 days. Excellent correlation was noted between microMRI and histology in that the microMRI clearly depicted brain regions that were also observed by the Kluver-Barrera stain. The enhanced contrast between the white and gray matter obtained by the proposed microMRI method may facilitate the development of microMRI-based morphological phenotyping methods for mouse models of neurological disorders.
Kim
Sungheon
S
Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. Sungheon.Kim@nyumc.org
Pickup
Stephen
S
Hsu
Oliver
O
Poptani
Harish
H
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000494:pharmacology; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010477:Perfusion; D013997:Time Factors; D016707:Tissue Fixation
D005682:Gadolinium; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA