Abstract #1071

Short-Echo-Time 1H MRS of the Mouse Lacking Prion Protein (Prnp-/-) at 14.1T

Cristina Cudalbu¹, Vladimir Mlynrik¹, Juliane Bremer², Adriano Aguzzi², Rolf Gruetter^1,3

¹Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging (LIFMET), Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland; ²Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; ³Departments of Radiology, Universities of Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland

The prion diseases form a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases. Animal models were created to study the role of the prion protein. The aim of our study was to use in vivo 1H MRS at 14.1T to measure the neurochemical profile in mice lacking of prion protein (Prnp-/-). We have evaluated the in vivo concentration of 18 metabolites in the hippocampus of Prnp-/- mice. The Ins increase and the trend towards a decrease in Gln detected may reflect gliosis, consistent with the histological features, whereas the reduced NAA, Gln and Glu seem to indicate a dysfunction in the neurotransmitter metabolism.