Intrauterine endotoxin administration leads to white matter diffusivity changes in newborn rabbits.
Maternal intrauterine inflammation has been implicated in the development of periventricular leukomalacia and white matter injury in the neonate. We hypothesized that intrauterine endotoxin administration would lead to microstructural changes in the neonatal rabbit white matter in vivo that could be detected at birth using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Term newborn rabbit kits (gestational age 31 days) born to dams exposed to saline or endotoxin in utero on gestational day 28 underwent diffusion tensor imaging, and brain sections were stained for microglia. Comparison between normal and endotoxin groups showed significant decreases in both fractional anisotropy and eigenvalue (e(1)) in all periventricular white matter regions that showed an increase in the number of activated microglial cells, indicating that after maternal inflammation, microglial infiltration may predominantly explain this change in diffusivity in the immediate neonatal period. Diffusion tensor imaging may be a clinically useful tool for detecting neuroinflammation induced by maternal infection in neonatal white matter.
Saadani-Makki
Fadoua
F
Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.
Kannan
Sujatha
S
Makki
Malek
M
Muzik
Otto
O
Janisse
James
J
Romero
Roberto
R
Chugani
Diane
D
D000282:Administration, Intravaginal; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D017628:Microglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced*; D011817:Rabbits
D004731:Endotoxins; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins