Early pathological alterations of lower lumbar cords detected by ultrahigh-field MRI in a mouse multiple sclerosis model

Yuki Mori, Masaaki Murakami*, Yasunobu Arima, Dasong Zhu, Yasuo Terayama, Yutaka Komai, Yuji Nakatsuji, Daisuke Kamimura, Yoshichika Yoshioka

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberdxt044
Pages (from-to)93-101
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Immunology
Volume26
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014/02

Keywords

  • EAE
  • Lumbar cords
  • MRI
  • Spinal cords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology

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