Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Blood Brain/Nerve Barrier Dysfunction and Leukocyte Infiltration: Closely Related or Discordant?
Open Access
- 1 January 2012
- journal article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Neurology
- Vol. 3, 178
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2012.00178
Abstract
Unlike other organs the nervous system is secluded from the rest of the organism by the blood brain barrier (BBB) or blood nerve barrier (BNB) preventing passive influx of fluids from the circulation. Similarly, leukocyte entry to the nervous system is tightly controlled. Breakdown of these barriers and cellular inflammation are hallmarks of inflammatory as well as ischemic neurological diseases and thus represent potential therapeutic targets. The spatiotemporal relationship between BBB/BNB disruption and leukocyte infiltration has been a matter of debate. We here review contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a non-invasive tool to depict barrier dysfunction and its relation to macrophage infiltration in the central and peripheral nervous system under pathological conditions. Novel experimental contrast agents like Gadofluorine M (Gf) allow more sensitive assessment of BBB dysfunction than conventional Gadolinium (Gd)-DTPA enhanced MRI. In addition, Gf facilitates visualization of functional and transient alterations of the BBB remote from lesions. Cellular contrast agents such as superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (SPIO) and perfluorocarbons enable assessment of leukocyte (mainly macrophage) infiltration by MR technology. Combined use of these MR contrast agents disclosed that leukocytes can enter the nervous system independent from a disturbance of the BBB, and vice versa, a dysfunctional BBB/BNB by itself is not sufficient to attract inflammatory cells from the circulation. We will illustrate these basic imaging findings in animal models of multiple sclerosis, cerebral ischemia, and traumatic nerve injury and review corresponding findings in patients.This publication has 89 references indexed in Scilit:
- Acute injury in the peripheral nervous system triggers an alternative macrophage responseJournal of Neuroinflammation, 2012
- Visualization of Abscess Formation in a Murine Thigh Infection Model of Staphylococcus aureus by 19F-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)PLOS ONE, 2011
- 19F MRI detection of acute allograft rejection with in vivo perfluorocarbon labeling of immune cellsMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2011
- Early Assessment of Pulmonary Inflammation by19F MRI In VivoCirculation: Cardiovascular Imaging, 2010
- Gadofluorine M-enhanced MRI shows involvement of circumventricular organs in neuroinflammationJournal of Neuroinflammation, 2010
- In Vivo MRI Cell Tracking: Clinical StudiesAmerican Journal of Roentgenology, 2009
- In Vivo Monitoring of Inflammation After Cardiac and Cerebral Ischemia by Fluorine Magnetic Resonance ImagingCirculation, 2008
- Cell tracking using magnetic resonance imagingJournal Of Physiology-London, 2007
- Step-down infusions of Gd–DTPA yield greater contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance images of BBB damage in acute stroke than bolus injectionsMagnetic Resonance Imaging, 2007
- White matter and lesion T1 relaxation times increase in parallel and correlate with disability in multiple sclerosisZeitschrift für Neurologie, 2002