Abstract #4624
In vivo characterization of morphological changes in prenatally irradiated mice using MRI
Tine Verreet 1,2 , JanakiRaman Rangarajan 3,4 , Tom Dresselaers 5 , Frederik Maes 3 , Sarah Baatout 1 , Lieve Moons 2 , Mohammed Abderrafi Benotmane 1 , and Uwe Himmelreich 5
1
Radiobiology Unit, Molecular and Cellular
Biology, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, SCK CEN, Mol,
Belgium,
2
Laboratory
of Neural Circuit Development and Regeneration, KU
Leuven, Belgium,
3
ESAT/PSI
- Medical Image Computing, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium,
4
iMinds-KU
Leuven Future Health Department, KU Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium,
5
Biomedical
MRI unit, Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU
Leuven, Belgium
Epidemiological studies have shown that in utero
irradiation exposure causes a higher incidence of
neurological disorders and cognitive defects like
seizures and mental retardation (for e.g. survivors of
the atomic bombings). There is renewed interests to
investigate whether even low doses of radiation can
cause long-term neurological defects. However, animal
studies in this field are scarce and underpinning causes
remain unclear. The main objective of this study is to
characterize the morphological effects of in utero
exposure to low and moderate doses of ionizing radiation
on the mouse brain using in vivo MRI. Prenatally
irradiated mice show reduction in brain volume at higher
dose (0.66 Gy, 1 Gy), which is comparable to results
from human studies. Morphological changes are in line
with the cognitive function assessed by behavioral
experiments.
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