Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis in the Rat Spinal Cord: Lesion Detection with High-Resolution MR Microscopy at 17.6 T
Andreas Steinbrechera,
Thomas Weberb,
Thomas Neubergerb,
André M. Muellera,
Xiomara Pedréa,
Gerhard Giegericha,
Ulrich Bogdahna,
Peter Jakobb,
Axel Haaseb and
Cornelius Faberb
a Department of Neurology, University of Regensburg, Germany
b Germany and Physikalisches Institut, EP5, University of Wuerzburg, Germany
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FIG 1. Sagittal MR images of rat spinal cord. Arrowheads indicate the cord surface; asterisks, gray matter; white circle, white matter; and arrows, lesions.
A, Thoracic cord in a control rat.
B–D, Lumbar (B), thoracic (C), and cervical (D) sections in a rat with grade 4 EAE.
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FIG 2. Axial MR and histopathologic images of rat spinal cord.
A, Lumbar cord in a control rat. Letter A indicates the corticospinal tract; B, gracile fasciculus; C, lateral funiculus; and D, anterior/ventral funiculus.
B–D, Lumbar portion (L3) in a rat with grade 4 EAE. Multiple lesions (1–6) can be identified in the anterior and lateral parts of the white matter. Histologic section (LFB stain) in B shows an inflammatory infiltrate in the gray matter (arrow). Corresponding MR images in C and D, spaced 150 µm, account for the slightly different orientation of the axial plane introduced by histologic processing. Lesions 1–6 in A are shown.
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FIG 3. Lesion correlation in the ventral and lateral columns. Bar in A–D= 250 µm.
A and D, Details of the MR image in Figure 2D show a large lesion (1) in the ventral part of the cord (A) and two lesions (2 and 3) in the lateral part (D).
B, C, E, and F, Corresponding histologic sections stained for HE (B and E) and LFB (C and F) show the lesions depicted in A and Figure 2B. Note the fingerlike protrusion of lesion 1 (arrowhead) in A and C.
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FIG 4. Lesion correlation in the dorsal column. Bar in A = 250 µm.
A, Detail of the MR image in Figure 2B shows only two small lesions (arrows).
B and C, Corresponding histologic sections stained for HE (B) and LFB (C) show. only a few inflammatory cells (arrows).
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FIG 5. Lesion load quantification. 3D visualization of the thoracic spinal cord in the animal with grade 4 EAE. Gray matter is green; white matter lesions are blue (arrow); 1 is ventral horn; 2 is dorsal horn. Lesion load in the depicted cord is 16% of the white matter. Note the relative paucity of lesions in the dorsal part versus the ventral and lateral parts of the cord.
A, Ventrolateral view.
B, Dorsolateral view.
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