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Transplantation of glial progenitor cells results in transplant-derived myelination and improved function in rodents with genetic dysmyelination or chemical demyelination. However, glial cell transplantation in adult CNS inflammatory demyelinating models has not been well studied. Here we transplanted human glial-restricted progenitor (hGRP) cells into the spinal cord of adult rats with inflammatory demyelination, and monitored cell fate in chemically immunosuppressed animals. We found that hGRPs migrate extensively, expand within inflammatory spinal cord lesions, do not form tumors, and adopt a mature glial phenotype, albeit at a low rate. Human GRPtransplanted rats, but not controls, exhibited preserved electrophysiological conduction across the spinal cord, though no differences in behavioral improvement were noted between the two groups. Although these hGRPs myelinated extensively after implantation into neonatal shiverer mouse brain, only marginal remyelination was observed in the inflammatory spinal cord demyelination model. The low rate of transplant-derived myelination in adult rat spinal cord may reflect host age, species, transplant environment/location, and/or immune suppression regime differences. We conclude that hGRPs have the capacity to myelinate dysmyelinated neonatal rodent brain and preserve conduction in the inflammatory demyelinated adult rodent spinal cord. The latter benefit is likely dependent on trophic support and suggests further exploration of potential of glial progenitors in animal models of chronic inflammatory demyelination.

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI is a promising new technique for cellular and molecular imaging. This contrast allows the detection of tumors and ischemia without the use of gadolinium as well as the design of microenvironment-sensitive probes that can be discriminated based on their exchange contrast properties and saturation frequency. Current acquisition schemes to detect and analyze this contrast suffer from sensitivity to spatial B0 inhomogeneity and low contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR), which is an obstacle to widespread adoption of the technology. A new method to detect CEST contrast is proposed here, termed “Length and Offset VARied Saturation” or “LOVARS”, which acquires a set of images with the saturation parameters varied so as to modulate the exchange contrast. Either fast fourier transform or the general linear model can be employed to decompose the modulation patterns into separate sources of water signal loss. After transformation, a LOVARS phase map is generated, which is insensitive to B0 inhomogeneity. When collected on live mice bearing 9L gliosarcomas, and compared to the conventional MTRasym map using offset increment correction, the results show that LOVARS phase mapping obtains about four times higher CNR and exhibits less B0 artifacts.

Purpose:To determine if glial precursor cells can be targeted to inflamed brain through overexpression of very late antigen-4 (VLA-4) and whether this docking process can be monitored with magnetic resonance (MR) cell tracking after intraarterial injection. Materials andMethods:All experimental procedures were performed between August 2010 and February 2012 and were approved by the institutional animal care and use committee. Human glial precursor cells (hGPs) were transfected with VLA-4 and labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide that contained rhodamine. A microfluidic adhesion assay was used for assessing VLA-4 receptor-mediated cell docking in vitro. A rat model of global lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated brain inflammation was used to induce global vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression. hGPs were infused into the carotid artery in four animal cohorts (consisting of three rats each): rats that received VLA-4-naive hGPs but did not receive LPS, rats that received VLA-4-expressing hGPs but not LPS, rats that received VLA-4-naive hGPs and LPS, and rats that received VLA-4-expressing hGPs and LPS.

Allografts continue to be used in clinical neurotransplantation studies, hence it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that govern allograft tolerance. We investigated the impact of transplantation site within the brain on graft survival. Mouse (FVB) glial precursors, transfected with luciferase have been injected (3×105) into the forceps minor (FM) or striatum (STR). Immunodeficient rag2−/− and immunocompetent BALB/c mice were used as recipients. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed that cells were precisely deposited at the selected coordinates. The graft viability was assessed non-invasively with bioluminescent imaging for a period of 16 days. Regardless of implantation site all grafts (n=10) deposited in immunodeficient animals revealed excellent survival. In contrast, immunocompetent animals accepted all grafts only at STR site (n=10), while all FM grafts were rejected (n=10). To investigate the factors that led to rejection of FM grafts, with acceptance of STR grafts, another group of animals (n=19) was sacrificed during pre-rejection period, on day 5. Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with IRDye®800CW-PEG probe displayed similar blood-brain barrier disruption at both graft locations. The morphological distribution of FM grafts was cylindrical, parallel to the needle track, while cells transplanted into the STR accumulated along the border between the striatum and corpus callosum. There was a significantly less infiltration by both innate and adaptive immune cells in the STR grafts, especially along the calloso-striatal border. With allograft survival being dependent on the transplantation site, the anatomical coordinates of the graft target should always be taken into account as it may determine success or failure of therapy.

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Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is commonly used as an immunogen to induce an immune response against endogenous myelin, thereby modeling multiple sclerosis in rodents. When MOG is combined with complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA), multifocal, multiphasic disease ensues; whereas when MOG is combined with incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA), clinical disease is usually absent. MOG-IFA immunized animals can be induced to have neurological disease after intraspinal injections of cytokines and ethidium bromide (EtBr). In this study, we investigated whether MOG-IFA immunized rats exhibited subclinical injury as defined by Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEP) recordings. The titration of Anti-MOG-125 antibodies showed robust peripheral mounting of immune response against myelin in MOG-immunized rats. However the SEP measures showed no significant change over time. Upon injecting cytokine-EtBr in the spinal cord after MOG sensitization, the SEP recordings showed reduced amplitude and prolonged latency, suggestive of axonal injury and demyelination in the dorsal column, respectively. These findings were later confirmed using T2-weighted MRI and histological hematoxilin-eosin stain of the spinal cord. This report establishes that MOG-IFA immunization alone does not alter neuronal conduction in SEP-related neural-pathways and that longitudinal in-vivo SSEP recordings provide a sensitive read-out for focal myelitis (MOG-IFA & intraspinal cytokine-EtBr) in rats.