High throughput method for detecting murine brain atrophy using a clinical 3T MRI.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Immunology
• Virology

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves central nervous system (CNS) injury with poorly understood mechanisms.
• Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) infection in SJL/J mice serves as a progressive MS model.
• CNS atrophy correlates with MS disability, highlighting the need to study brain volume changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify total ventricular volume in TMEV-infected mice using in vivo MRI.
• To identify immunological and virological biomarkers associated with increased ventricular size.
• To establish TMEV infection as a model for studying MS disability progression.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal monitoring of TMEV-infected and control mice for 6 months.
• Cerebral ventricular volumes assessed via MRI.
• Disability evaluated using Rotarod performance.
• Immunological and virological measures collected using standard techniques.

Main Results:

• Infected mice with enlarged ventricles exhibited disability; those without enlarged ventricles had performance similar to controls.
• Ventricular enlargement was detectable as early as 1 month post-infection.
• No tested immunological or virological measures correlated with ventricular enlargement.

Conclusions:

• TMEV infection with MRI monitoring is a valuable model for MS disability progression research.
• This study did not identify specific immunological or virological correlates of ventricular enlargement in this MS model.