application) The goal of the research proposed is to assess the extent of spinal cord damage, and evaluate possible repair following transplantation of fetal spinal cord tissue, by using high-field MR imaging and spectral imaging in vivo. This study will assess on a macroscopic level the survival and development of fetal transplants and their interactions with the host spinal cord in a living animal. The following specific aims will be addressed.
Aim 1 is to improve on images currently being obtained with conventional MR imaging methods. The applicants will develop high spatial-resolution images of the injured spinal cord to provide more detailed observations of post-traumatic pathology in vivo. In addition, they will explore whether three-dimensional image reconstructions of spinal lesions can be generated from serial and volume MR slices.
Aim 2 will test the ability of H-1 MR spectral imaging to determine the tissue distribution of water and lipid. The focus of this aim will be to relate anatomical and gross chemical changes taking place in both injured cord and transplant tissue.
Aim 3 is to study the dynamics of transplant growth and maturation in the acutely- and chronically-injured spinal cord using the methods developed in Aim 1 and Aim 2. Current analyses of fetal CNS transplants and their interactions with host spinal cord have been largely limited to post-mortem histological studies. Examination of spinal cord injury and repair with MR imaging and spectral (MRS) imaging may provide a tool for determining in vivo whether a transplant procedure will be successful.
