MRI detection of progenitor cell migrations during postnatal rat brain development by in situ MPIO labeling

Abstract

In this study, micron-sized iron oxide particles (MPIOs) were injected into the left anterior lateral ventricle of 10-day-old normal rats. T2- and T2*-weighted images were acquired using a 7T scanner at day 1, 3, 7 and 14 after the MPIO injection. Histological analyses were then performed to identify MPIOs in different migrating cells, namely, neural progenitor and astrocytes-like progenitor cells. The migrating pathways of the MPIO-labeled endogenous progenitors exhibited a predominantly bidirectional, rostrocaudal pattern in tangential orientation. Such in situ MPIO labeling approach opens the possibility of using MRI to study the mechanism of cell migration in developing brain.