Three-dimensional elemental bio-imaging of Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn and P in a 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned mouse brain

Abstract

Three dimensional maps of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and phosphorous (P) in a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesioned mouse brain were constructed employing a novel quantitative laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) imaging method known as elemental bio-imaging. The 3D maps were produced by ablating serial consecutive sections taken from the same animal. Each section was quantified against tissue standards resulting in a three dimensional map that represents the variation of trace element concentrations of the mouse brain in the area surrounding the substantia nigra (SN). Damage caused by the needle or the toxin did not alter the distribution of Zn, and Cu but significantly altered Fe in and around the SN and both Mn and Fe around the needle track. A 20% increase in nigral Fe concentration was observed within the lesioned hemisphere. This technique clearly shows the natural heterogeneous distributions of these elements throughout the brain and the perturbations that occur following trauma or intoxication. The method may applied to three-dimensional modelling of trace elements in a wide range of tissue samples.

Laminar-specific distribution of zinc: Evidence for presence of layer IV in forelimb motor cortex in the rat

“…Our study has demonstrated that normalizing the average Zn concentration in each cortical layer to that of the corpus callosum in the same brain section reduces inter- and intra-animal variability between tissue sections (see Supplementary information). Most importantly, the Zn concentration determined for each tissue layer of the cortex in this study is consistent with some previous studies (Chwiej et al, 2011; Frederickson et al, 2000; Hare et al, 2010; Lee et al, 2011; Wang et al, 2010) and falls within the normal physiological range. Likewise, the ratio of bulk Zn concentration in the cortex and corpus callosum is also in general agreement with previous findings (Chwiej et al, 2011; Sergeant et al, 2005).…”

Biomedical applications of the ESRF synchrotron-based microspectroscopy platform

“…Laser-ablation is a highly efficient, sensitive technique at the microscale. Although destructive and with limited spatial resolution, high quality quantitative images of large histological sections can be obtained (Becker, 2010;Hare et al, 2010).…”

Laser ablation ICP-MS for quantitative biomedical applications

“…In the last few years, LA-ICP-MS has been widely employed for metal and nonmetal imaging in brain tissue sections by the groups of McLeod [16], Doble [17,18] and, particularly, Becker [19][20][21][22][23]. Metal accumulations in the brain appear to be directly linked to neurodegenerative processes (e.g.…”