Abstract #1933

Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer MRI of Disease-Associated Lymph Nodes in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis

Aline M. Thomas^1,2, Peter A. Calabresi^3,4, Michael T. McMahon^1,5, Peter C.M. van Zijl^1,5, and Jeff W.M. Bulte^1,2

¹Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Institute for Cell Engineering, Imaging Section and Vascular Biology Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁵Department of Radiology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States

In multiple sclerosis (MS), immune cells damage the brain and spinal cord, often causing irreversible disability. Current imaging strategies visualize the resulting damage, but the heterogeneity of the damage observed complicates image interpretation. Evidence has emerged that the immunological attacks in MS are initiated in central nervous system-draining lymph nodes. Here, we demonstrate the potential of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI to monitor changes in these lymph nodes as disability progressed in a mouse model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

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