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Bontempi P, Piccolantonio G, Busato A, Conti A, Angelini G, Lopez N, Bani A, Constantin G, Marzola P. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals functional connectivity alteration in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model of multiple sclerosis. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2024; 37:e5127. [PMID: 38450807 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.5127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune degenerative disease targeting white matter in the central nervous system. The most common animal model that mimics MS is experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and it plays a crucial role in pharmacological research, from the identification of a therapeutic target to the in vivo validation of efficacy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is largely used to detect MS lesions, and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) to investigate alterations in the brain functional connectivity (FC). MRI was mainly used in EAE studies to detect lesions in the spinal cord and brain. The current longitudinal MRI study aims to validate rsfMRI as a biomarker of the disease progression in the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 35-55 induced EAE animal model of MS. MR images were acquired 14, 25, and 50 days postimmunization. Seed-based analysis was used to investigate the whole-brain FC with some predefined areas, such as the thalamic regions, cerebellum, motor and somatosensory cortex. When compared with the control group, the EAE group exhibited a slightly altered FC and a decreasing trend in the total number of activated voxels along the disease progression. The most interesting result regards the whole-brain FC with the cerebellum. A hyperconnectivity behavior was found at an early phase and a significant reduced connectivity at a late phase. Moreover, we found a negative correlation between the total number of activated voxels during the late phase and the cumulative disease index. The results obtained provide a clinically relevant experimental platform that may be pivotal for the elucidation of the key mechanisms of accumulation of irreversible disability, as well as the development of innovative therapies for MS. Moreover, the negative correlation between the disease severity and the size of the activated area suggests a possible research pathway to follow for the resolution of the clinico-radiological paradox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Bontempi
- Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Giusi Piccolantonio
- Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Alice Busato
- Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- Evotec Company, Verona, Italy
| | - Anita Conti
- Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Lopez
- Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | | | - Pasquina Marzola
- Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
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Iskusnykh IY, Zakharova AA, Kryl’skii ED, Popova TN. Aging, Neurodegenerative Disorders, and Cerebellum. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1018. [PMID: 38256091 PMCID: PMC10815822 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25021018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
An important part of the central nervous system (CNS), the cerebellum is involved in motor control, learning, reflex adaptation, and cognition. Diminished cerebellar function results in the motor and cognitive impairment observed in patients with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), and multiple sclerosis (MS), and even during the normal aging process. In most neurodegenerative disorders, impairment mainly occurs as a result of morphological changes over time, although during the early stages of some disorders such as AD, the cerebellum also serves a compensatory function. Biological aging is accompanied by changes in cerebellar circuits, which are predominantly involved in motor control. Despite decades of research, the functional contributions of the cerebellum and the underlying molecular mechanisms in aging and neurodegenerative disorders remain largely unknown. Therefore, this review will highlight the molecular and cellular events in the cerebellum that are disrupted during the process of aging and the development of neurodegenerative disorders. We believe that deeper insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of the cerebellum during aging and the development of neurodegenerative disorders will be essential for the design of new effective strategies for neuroprotection and the alleviation of some neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Y. Iskusnykh
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Anastasia A. Zakharova
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Biomedicine, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Ostrovitianov St. 1, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Evgenii D. Kryl’skii
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Voronezh State University, Universitetskaya Sq. 1, Voronezh 394018, Russia; (E.D.K.)
| | - Tatyana N. Popova
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Voronezh State University, Universitetskaya Sq. 1, Voronezh 394018, Russia; (E.D.K.)
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Wang Y, Duan Y, Wu Y, Zhuo Z, Zhang N, Han X, Zeng C, Chen X, Huang M, Zhu Y, Li H, Cao G, Sun J, Li Y, Zhou F, Li Y. Male and female are not the same: a multicenter study of static and dynamic functional connectivity in relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis in China. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1216310. [PMID: 37885895 PMCID: PMC10597802 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1216310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Sex-related effects have been observed in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), but their impact on functional networks remains unclear. Objective To investigate the sex-related differences in connectivity strength and time variability within large-scale networks in RRMS. Methods This is a multi-center retrospective study. A total of 208 RRMS patients (135 females; 37.55 ± 11.47 years old) and 228 healthy controls (123 females; 36.94 ± 12.17 years old) were included. All participants underwent clinical and MRI assessments. Independent component analysis was used to extract resting-state networks (RSNs). We assessed the connectivity strength using spatial maps (SMs) and static functional network connectivity (sFNC), evaluated temporal properties and dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) patterns of RSNs using dFNC, and investigated their associations with structural damage or clinical variables. Results For static connectivity, only male RRMS patients displayed decreased SMs in the attention network and reduced sFNC between the sensorimotor network and visual or frontoparietal networks compared with healthy controls [P<0.05, false discovery rate (FDR) corrected]. For dynamic connectivity, three recurring states were identified for all participants: State 1 (sparse connected state; 42%), State 2 (middle-high connected state; 36%), and State 3 (high connected state; 16%). dFNC analyses suggested that altered temporal properties and dFNC patterns only occurred in females: female patients showed a higher fractional time (P<0.001) and more dwell time in State 1 (P<0.001) with higher transitions (P=0.004) compared with healthy females. Receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that the fraction time and mean dwell time of State 1 could significantly distinguish female patients from controls (area under the curve: 0.838-0.896). In addition, female patients with RRMS also mainly showed decreased dFNC in all states, particularly within cognitive networks such as the default mode, frontoparietal, and visual networks compared with healthy females (P < 0.05, FDR corrected). Conclusion Our results observed alterations in connectivity strength only in male patients and time variability in female patients, suggesting that sex-related effects may play an important role in the functional impairment and reorganization of RRMS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Wang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
- Clinical Research Center For Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yunyun Duan
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuling Wu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
- Clinical Research Center For Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Zhizheng Zhuo
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Ningnannan Zhang
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Xuemei Han
- Department of Neurology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China
| | - Chun Zeng
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaoya Chen
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Muhua Huang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
- Clinical Research Center For Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yanyan Zhu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
- Clinical Research Center For Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Haiqing Li
- Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guanmei Cao
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Sun
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Yongmei Li
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Fuqing Zhou
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
- Clinical Research Center For Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yuxin Li
- Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Liang X, Wang L, Zhu Y, Wang Y, He T, Wu L, Huang M, Zhou F. Altered neural intrinsic oscillations in patients with multiple sclerosis: effects of cortical thickness. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1143646. [PMID: 37818221 PMCID: PMC10560735 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1143646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective To investigate the effects of cortical thickness on the identification accuracy of fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 31 remitting MS, 20 acute MS, and 42 healthy controls (HCs). After preprocessing, we first calculated two-dimensional fALFF (2d-fALFF) maps using the DPABISurf toolkit, and 2d-fALFF per unit thickness was obtained by dividing 2d-fALFF by cortical thickness. Then, between-group comparison, clinical correlation, and classification analyses were performed in 2d-fALFF and 2d-fALFF per unit thickness maps. Finally, we also examined whether the effect of cortical thickness on 2d-fALFF maps was affected by the subfrequency band. Results In contrast with 2d-fALFF, more changed regions in 2d-fALFF per unit thickness maps were detected in MS patients, such as increased region of the right inferior frontal cortex and faded regions of the right paracentral lobule, middle cingulate cortex, and right medial temporal cortex. There was a significant positive correlation between the disease duration and the 2d-fALFF values in the left early visual cortex in remitting MS patients (r = 0.517, Bonferroni-corrected, p = 0.008 × 4 < 0.05). In contrast with 2d-fALFF, we detected a positive correlation between the 2d-fALFF per unit thickness of the right ventral stream visual cortex and the modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) scores (r = 0.555, Bonferroni-corrected, p = 0.017 × 4 > 0.05). For detecting MS patients, 2d-fALFF and 2d- fALFF per unit thickness both performed remarkably well in support vector machine (SVM) analysis, especially in the remitting phase (AUC = 86, 83%). Compared with 2d-fALFF, the SVM model of 2d-fALFF per unit thickness had significantly higher classification performance in distinguishing between remitting and acute MS. More changed regions and more clinically relevant 2d-fALFF per unit thickness maps in the subfrequency band were also detected in MS patients. Conclusion By dividing the functional value by the cortical thickness, the identification accuracy of fALFF in MS patients was detected to be potentially influenced by cortical thickness. Additionally, 2d-fALFF per unit thickness is a potential diagnostic marker that can be utilized to distinguish between acute and remitting MS patients. Notably, we observed similar variations in the subfrequency band.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Liang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yanyan Zhu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yao Wang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Ting He
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Lin Wu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Muhua Huang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Fuqing Zhou
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
- Institute of Medical Imaging, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
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