Transition Metal Homeostasis in the Mouse Brain Following High-Dose Manganese Injections

Nataliya Moldovan¹, Nicholas A. Bock¹

MEMRI is widely used in animal brain imaging with divalent manganese providing T1 contrast. However, given that manganese shares transporter proteins with iron and copper, the contrast may be a result of disrupted transition metal homeostasis in the brain. We measured the regional manganese, iron, and copper levels in rodent brains treated with fractionated high-doses of manganese using x-ray fluorescence and neutron activation analysis. We found that overall metal homeostasis was not disrupted, except for decreasing iron levels in the thalamus. This decrease in iron could result in a significant change in MEMRI contrast.