Multiparametric MRI Can Detect Enhanced Myelination in the Ex Vivo Gli1^-/- Mouse Brain

This study investigated the potential of combining multiple MR parameters to enhance the characterization of myelin in the mouse brain. We collected ex vivo multiparametric MR data at 7 T from control and Gli1^-/- mice; the latter exhibit enhanced myelination at Postnatal Day 10 (P10) in the corpus callosum and cortex. The MR data included relaxivity, magnetization transfer, and diffusion measurements, each targeting distinct myelin properties. This analysis was followed by and compared to myelin basic protein (MBP) staining of the same samples. Although a majority of the MR parameters included in this study showed significant differences in the corpus callosum between the control and Gli1^-/- mice, only T₂, T₁/T₂, and radial diffusivity (RD) demonstrated a significant correlation with MBP values. Based on data from the corpus callosum, partial least square regression suggested that combining T₂, T₁/T₂, and inhomogeneous magnetization transfer ratio could explain approximately 80% of the variance in the MBP values. Myelin predictions based on these three parameters yielded stronger correlations with the MBP values in the P10 mouse brain corpus callosum than any single MR parameter. In the motor cortex, combining T₂, T₁/T₂, and radial kurtosis could explain over 90% of the variance in the MBP values at P10. This study demonstrates the utility of multiparametric MRI in improving the detection of myelin changes in the mouse brain.