NF-κB is a critical mediator of post-mitotic senescence in oligodendrocytes and subsequent white matter loss.

Background: Inflammaging represents an accepted concept where the immune system shifts to a low-grade chronic pro-inflammatory state without overt infection upon aging. In the CNS, inflammaging is mainly driven by glia cells and associated with neurodegenerative processes. White matter degeneration (WMD), a well-known process in the aging brain, manifests in myelin loss finally resulting in motor, sensory and cognitive impairments.

Preclinical PET and MR Evaluation of Zr- and Ga-Labeled Nanodiamonds in Mice over Different Time Scales.

Nanodiamonds (NDs) have high potential as a drug carrier and in combination with nitrogen vacancies (NV centers) for highly sensitive MR-imaging after hyperpolarization. However, little remains known about their physiological properties in vivo. PET imaging allows further evaluation due to its quantitative properties and high sensitivity.

Comparison of Quantification of Target-Specific Accumulation of [F]F-siPSMA-14 in the HET-CAM Model and in Mice Using PET/MRI.

Assessment of biodistribution and specific tumor accumulation is essential for the development of new radiopharmaceuticals and requires animal experiments. The HET-CAM (hens-egg test-chorioallantoic membrane) model can be used in combination with the non-invasive imaging modalities PET and MRI for pre-selection during radiopharmaceutical development to reduce the number of animal experiments required. Critical to the acceptance of this model is the demonstration of the quantifiability and reproducibility of these data compared to the standard animal model.

Tiny golden angle ultrashort echo-time lung imaging in mice.

Imaging the lung parenchyma with MRI is particularly difficult in small animals due to the high respiratory and heart rates, and ultrashort T2* at high magnetic field strength caused by the high susceptibilities induced by the air-tissue interfaces. In this study, a 2D ultrashort echo-time (UTE) technique was combined with tiny golden angle (tyGA) ordering. Data were acquired continuously at 11.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the rodent brain: Experts' consensus recommendations.

In vivo MRS is a non-invasive measurement technique used not only in humans, but also in animal models using high-field magnets. MRS enables the measurement of metabolite concentrations as well as metabolic rates and their modifications in healthy animals and disease models. Such data open the way to a deeper understanding of the underlying biochemistry, related disturbances and mechanisms taking place during or prior to symptoms and tissue changes.

Quantification of Biventricular Myocardial Strain Using CMR Feature Tracking: Reproducibility in Small Animals.

Myocardial strain is a well-validated parameter for evaluating myocardial contraction. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance myocardial feature tracking (CMR-FT) is a novel method for the quantitative measurements of myocardial strain from routine cine acquisitions. In this study, we investigated the influence of temporal resolution on tracking accuracy of CMR-FT and the intraobserver, interobserver, and interstudy reproducibilities for biventricular strain analysis in mice from self-gated CMR at 11.

Maintenance Therapy for ATM-Deficient Pancreatic Cancer by Multiple DNA Damage Response Interferences after Platinum-Based Chemotherapy.

Personalized medicine in treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still in its infancy, albeit PDAC-related deaths are projected to rise over the next decade. Only recently, maintenance therapy with the PARP inhibitor olaparib showed improved progression-free survival in germline -mutated PDAC patients after platinum-based induction for the first time. Transferability of such a concept to other DNA damage response (DDR) genes remains unclear.

Multi-Modal PET and MR Imaging in the Hen's Egg Test-Chorioallantoic Membrane (HET-CAM) Model for Initial Testing of Target-Specific Radioligands.

The validation of novel target-specific radioligands requires animal experiments mostly using mice with xenografts. A pre-selection based on a simpler in vivo model would allow to reduce the number of animal experiments, in accordance with the 3Rs principles (reduction, replacement, refinement). In this respect, the chick embryo or hen's egg test-chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM) model is of special interest, as it is not considered an animal until day 17.

Functional and structural impairment of transcallosal motor fibres in ALS: a study using transcranial magnetic stimulation, diffusion tensor imaging, and diffusion weighted spectroscopy.

Imaging studies showed that the structure of the corpus callosum (CC) is affected in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Some clinical studies also suggest that interhemispheric connectivity is altered, since mirror movements seem to occur in ALS. Finally, reduced interhemispheric inhibition (IHI), studied by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), has been reported.

Feasibility of real-time cardiac MRI in mice using tiny golden angle radial sparse.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging has proven valuable for the assessment of structural and functional cardiac abnormalities. Even although it is an established imaging method in small animals, the long acquisition times of gated or self-gated techniques still limit its widespread application. In this study, the application of tiny golden angle radial sparse MRI (tyGRASP) for real-time cardiac imaging was tested in 12 constitutive nexilin (Nexn) knock-out (KO) mice, both heterozygous (Het, N = 6) and wild-type (WT, N = 6), and the resulting functional parameters were compared with a well-established self-gating approach.

Histological correlates of postmortem ultra-high-resolution single-section MRI in cortical cerebral microinfarcts.

The identification of cerebral microinfarctions with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histological methods remains challenging in aging and dementia. Here, we matched pathological changes in the microvasculature of cortical cerebral microinfarcts to MRI signals using single 100 μm-thick histological sections scanned with ultra-high-resolution 11.7 T MRI.

Longitudinal diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging analysis at the cohort level reveals disturbed cortical and callosal microstructure with spared corticospinal tract in the ALS mouse model.

Background: In vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the mouse brain was used to identify TDP-43 associated alterations in a mouse model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Methods: Ten mice with overexpression under control of the Thy1.2 promoter and 10 wild type () underwent longitudinal DTI scans at 11.

Three-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of Mouse Facial Nerve Regeneration.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is an indispensable tool in the diagnosis of centrals nervous system (CNS) disorders such as spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis (MS). In contrast, diagnosis of peripheral nerve injuries largely depends on clinical and electrophysiological parameters. Thus, currently MRI is not regularly used which in part is due to small nerve calibers and isointensity with surrounding tissue such as muscles.

Transgenic and Prenatal Zinc-Deficient Autism Mouse Models Show Convergent and Individual Alterations of Brain Structures in MRI.

Research efforts over the past decades have unraveled both genetic and environmental factors, which contribute to the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It is, to date, largely unknown how different underlying causes result in a common phenotype. However, the individual course of development and the different comorbidities might reflect the heterogeneous genetic and non-genetic contributions.

Diet-Induced Obesity Affects Muscle Regeneration After Murine Blunt Muscle Trauma-A Broad Spectrum Analysis.

Injury to skeletal muscle affects millions of people worldwide. The underlying regenerative process however, is a very complex mechanism, time-wise highly coordinated, and subdivided in an initial inflammatory, a regenerative and a remodeling phase. Muscle regeneration can be impaired by several factors, among them diet-induced obesity (DIO).

Aripiprazole Selectively Reduces Motor Tics in a Young Animal Model for Tourette's Syndrome and Comorbid Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder.

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized primarily by motor and vocal tics. Comorbidities such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are observed in over 50% of TS patients. We applied aripiprazole in a juvenile rat model that displays motor tics and hyperactivity.

Brain Lateralization in Mice Is Associated with Zinc Signaling and Altered in Prenatal Zinc Deficient Mice That Display Features of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

A number of studies have reported changes in the hemispheric dominance in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients on functional, biochemical, and morphological level. Since asymmetry of the brain is also found in many vertebrates, we analyzed whether prenatal zinc deficient (PZD) mice, a mouse model with ASD like behavior, show alterations regarding brain lateralization on molecular and behavioral level. Our results show that hemisphere-specific expression of marker genes is abolished in PZD mice on mRNA and protein level.

In Vivo Evaluation of Fracture Callus Development During Bone Healing in Mice Using an MRI-compatible Osteosynthesis Device for the Mouse Femur.

Endochondral fracture healing is a complex process involving the development of fibrous, cartilaginous, and osseous tissue in the fracture callus. The amount of the different tissues in the callus provides important information on the fracture healing progress. Available in vivo techniques to longitudinally monitor the callus tissue development in preclinical fracture-healing studies using small animals include digital radiography and µCT imaging.

IKK2/NF-κB signaling protects neurons after traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death in young adults. After the initial injury, a poorly understood secondary phase, including a strong inflammatory response determines the final outcome of TBI. The inhibitor of NF-κB kinase (IKK)/NF-κB signaling system is the key regulator of inflammation and also critically involved in regulation of neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity.

Functional and Molecular Characterization of a Novel Traumatic Peripheral Nerve-Muscle Injury Model.

Traumatic injuries to human peripheral nerves are frequently associated with damage to nerve surrounding tissues including muscles and blood vessels. Currently, most rodent models of peripheral nerve injuries (e.g.

Evaluation of high-resolution In Vivo MRI for longitudinal analysis of endochondral fracture healing in mice.

Mice are extensively used for experimental bone-healing studies. However, there are few established nondestructive in vivo techniques for longitudinal fracture-healing analysis in mice, including in vivo micro-computed tomography (μCT) and radiography. Importantly, none of the established methods can discriminate between non-mineralized fibrous tissue and cartilage in the soft fracture callus.

Assessment of Longitudinal Reproducibility of Mice LV Function Parameters at 11.7 T Derived from Self-Gated CINE MRI.

The objective of this work was the assessment of the reproducibility of self-gated cardiac MRI in mice at ultra-high-field strength. A group of adult mice ( = 5) was followed over 360 days with a standardized MR protocol including reproducible animal position and standardized planning of the scan planes. From the resulting CINE MRI data, global left ventricular (LV) function parameters including end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), ejection fraction (EF), and left ventricular mass (LVM) were quantified.

Transient IKK2 activation in astrocytes initiates selective non-cell-autonomous neurodegeneration.

Background: Neuroinflammation is associated with a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders, however the specific contribution to individual disease pathogenesis and selective neuronal cell death is not well understood. Inflammatory cerebellar ataxias are neurodegenerative diseases occurring in various autoimmune/inflammatory conditions, e.g.

High-resolution MRI analysis of breast cancer xenograft on the chick chorioallantoic membrane.

The chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model has been successfully used to study angiogenesis, cancer progression and its pharmacological treatment, tumor pharmacokinetics, and properties of novel nanomaterials. MRI is an attractive technique for non-invasive and longitudinal monitoring of physiological processes and tumor growth. This study proposes an age-adapted cooling regime for immobilization of the chick embryo, enabling high-resolution MRI of the embryo and the CAM tumor xenograft.