Multimodal in vivo imaging of the integrated postnatal development of brain and skull and its co-modulation with neurodevelopment in a Down syndrome mouse model

The brain and skeletal systems are intimately integrated during development through common molecular pathways. This is evidenced by genetic disorders where brain and skull dysmorphologies are associated. However, the mechanisms underlying neural and skeletal interactions are poorly understood. Using...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Llambrich, Sergi, González, Rubèn, Albaigès, Julia, Wouters, Jens, Marain, Fopke, Himmelreich, Uwe, Sharpe, James, Dierssen, Mara, Gsell, Willy, Martínez Abadías, Neus, 1978-, Vande Velde, Greetje
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2022
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositório:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/194781
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/194781
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Cervell
Crani
Síndrome de Down
Imatges per ressonància magnètica
Brain
Skull
Down syndrome
Magnetic resonance imaging
Descrição
Resumo:The brain and skeletal systems are intimately integrated during development through common molecular pathways. This is evidenced by genetic disorders where brain and skull dysmorphologies are associated. However, the mechanisms underlying neural and skeletal interactions are poorly understood. Using the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome (DS) as a case example, we performed the first longitudinal assessment of brain, skull and neurobehavioral development to determine alterations in the coordinated morphogenesis of brain and skull. We optimized a multimodal protocol combining in vivo micro-computed tomography (μCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (μMRI) with morphometric analyses and neurodevelopmental tests to longitudinally monitor the different systems' development trajectories during the first postnatal weeks. We also explored the impact of a perinatal treatment with green tea extracts enriched in epigallocatechin-3-gallate (GTE-EGCG), which can modulate cognition, brain and craniofacial development in DS. Our analyses quantified alterations associated with DS, with skull dysmorphologies appearing before brain anomalies, reduced integration and delayed acquisition of neurodevelopmental traits. Perinatal GTE-EGCG induced disparate effects and disrupted the magnitude of integration and covariation patterns between brain and skull. Our results exemplify how a longitudinal research approach evaluating the development of multiple systems can reveal the effect of morphological integration modulating the response of pathological phenotypes to treatment, furthering our understanding of complex genetic disorders.