title: Early pathological alterations of lower lumbar cords detected by ultrahigh-field MRI in a mouse multiple sclerosis model.
abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely employed for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, sometimes, the lesions found by MRI do not correlate with the neurological impairments observed in MS patients. We recently showed autoreactive T cells accumulate in the fifth lumbar cord (L5) to pass the blood-brain barrier and cause inflammation in the central nervous system of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice, an MS model. We here investigated this early event using ultrahigh-field MRI. T2-weighted image signals, which conform to the water content, increased in L4 and L5 during the development of EAE. At the same time, the sizes of L4 and L5 changed. Moreover, angiographic images of MRI showed branch positions of the blood vessels in the lower lumbar cords were significantly altered. Interestingly, EAE mice showed occluded and thickened vessels, particularly during the peak phase, followed by reperfusion in the remission phase. Additionally, demyelination regions of some MS patients had increased lactic acid content, suggesting the presence of ischemic events. These results suggest that inflammation-mediated alterations in the lower lumbar cord change the homeostasis of the spinal cord and demonstrate that ultrahigh-field MRI enables the detection of previously invisible pathological alterations in EAE.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biofunctional Imaging, WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Yasunobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arima
authors.forename: Dasong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Terayama
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Komai
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakatsuji
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kamimura
authors.forename: Yoshichika
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography; D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000276:immunology; D002465:Cell Movement; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000098:blood supply / Q000276:immunology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism; D013166:Spondylitis / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid
keywords: EAE; MRI; lumbar cords; spinal cords