Ingrid E. Chesnick1, Carol B. Fowler1,
Yeon Ho Kim2, Helen E. DArceuil3, Jeffrey T. Mason1,
Kimberlee Potter1
1Department of Biophysics, Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology Annex, Rockville, MD, United States; 2Defense
and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Annex,
Rockville, MD, United States; 3MRVision Co., Redwood City, CA,
United States
Organotypic
slice cultures of spinal cord allow for the study of axonal growth and
regeneration, synapse formation, and myelination. Consequently, to better
understand the dynamics of spinal cord repair in vivo, this model system was
employed as a novel test platform to examine the specificity of
actin-targeted Gd-liposomes to actin-rich neural sprouts. Actin-targeted Gd-liposomes were tested on
a monolayer of cells and all labeling experiments were confirmed by MRM and
fluorescence microscopy. Similar labeling protocols applied to spine explants
revealed MR signal enhancement around the neural tube and neural sprouts at
the edge of the explants.
Keywords