RESEARCH ARTICLE
Spatial and Temporal MRI Profile of Ischemic Tissue after the Acute Stages of a Permanent Mouse Model of Stroke
Bogaert-Buchmann A 1, 2, Poittevin M 3, Po C 1, 2, Dupont D 1, 2, Sebrié C 1, 2, Tomita Y 3, TranDinh A3, Seylaz J3, Pinard E 3, Méric P 2, Kubis N 3, 4, Gillet B 1, 2, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2013Volume: 7
First Page: 4
Last Page: 14
Publisher ID: TONIJ-7-4
DOI: 10.2174/1874440001307010004
PMID: 23459141
PMCID: PMC3580904
Article History:
Received Date: 20/6/2012Revision Received Date: 25/7/2012
Acceptance Date: 29/7/2012
Electronic publication date: 1/2/2013
Collection year: 2013

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Object:
To characterize the progression of injured tissue resulting from a permanent focal cerebral ischemia after the acute phase, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) monitoring was performed on adult male C57BL/6J mice in the subacute stages, and correlated to histological analyses.
Material and methods:
Lesions were induced by electrocoagulation of the middle cerebral artery. Serial MRI measurements and weighted-images (T2, T1, T2* and Diffusion Tensor Imaging) were performed on a 9.4T scanner. Histological data (Cresyl-Violet staining and laminin-, Iba1- and GFAP-immunostainings) were obtained 1 and 2 weeks after the stroke.
Results:
Two days after stroke, tissues assumed to correspond to the infarct core, were detected as a hyperintensity signal area in T2-weighted images. One week later, low-intensity signal areas appeared. Longitudinal MRI study showed that these areas remained present over the following week, and was mainly linked to a drop of the T2 relaxation time value in the corresponding tissues. Correlation with histological data and immuno-histochemistry showed that these areas corresponded to microglial cells.
Conclusion:
The present data provide, for the first time detailed MRI parameters of microglial cells dynamics, allowing its non-invasive monitoring during the chronic stages of a stroke. This could be particularly interesting in regards to emerging anti-inflammatory stroke therapies.