Ultra-High Field Diffusion MRI Reveals Early Axonal Pathology in Spinal Cord of ALS mice

Table 2 Presymptomatic UHF-MRI Diffusion Bioimaging Markers at 17.6T and Histological Findings in ALS Mice Spinal Cord

MRI markers	White Matter Microstructure	Histology/Molecular Markers
FA ↓	Axonal Organization	YFP labeled axons
RD ↑	Myelin Content	MBP ↓*
AD ↓	Axonal Degeneration	YFP labeled axons
EW ↓	Axonal Connectivity	YFP labeled axons
ADC ↑	Transmembrane Water Diffusion	AQP4 ↑↑

Presymptomatic white matter changes in UHF-MRI diffusion can be associated to biological and molecular markers of axonal ultrastructure & connectivity and other cellular compartments
Abbreviations: ALS Amyotrophic lateral Sclerosis, WM White matter, ADC Apparent diffusion coefficient, RD Radial Diffusivity, AD Axial diffusivity, FA Fractional Anisotropy, EW Edge Weight, AQP4 Aquaporin 4, MBP Myelin Basic Protein, YFP Yellow fluorescent Protein. (* Presymptomatic changes in MBP seen in Gatto et al. 2018 [28])

ISSN: 2047-9158