title: Utilizing 3D Printing Technology to Merge MRI with Histology: A Protocol for Brain Sectioning.
abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows for the delineation between normal and abnormal tissue on a macroscopic scale, sampling an entire tissue volume three-dimensionally. While MRI is an extremely sensitive tool for detecting tissue abnormalities, association of signal changes with an underlying pathological process is usually not straightforward. In the central nervous system, for example, inflammation, demyelination, axonal damage, gliosis, and neuronal death may all induce similar findings on MRI. As such, interpretation of MRI scans depends on the context, and radiological-histopathological correlation is therefore of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, traditional pathological sectioning of brain tissue is often imprecise and inconsistent, thus complicating the comparison between histology sections and MRI. This article presents novel methodology for accurately sectioning primate brain tissues and thus allowing precise matching between histology and MRI. The detailed protocol described in this article will assist investigators in applying this method, which relies on the creation of 3D printed brain slicers. Slightly modified, it can be easily implemented for brains of other species, including humans.
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Luciano
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sati
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Govind
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Guy
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Seung-Kwon
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Absinta
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Microcirculation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Wen-Yang
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: Viral Immunology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Emily C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Leibovitch
authors.affiliation: Viral Immunology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Microcirculation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
authors.forename: Afonso C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroradiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; reichds@ninds.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Reich
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006652:Histological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional