White matter imaging of ethanol-fixed rat brain by phase-contrast X-ray computed tomography.
Acta Radiol
; 63(8): 1102-1109, 2022 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34259019
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Phase-contrast X-ray computed tomography imaging (PCI) based on crystal X-ray interferometry can detect minute density differences within biological soft tissues without contrast agents. Ethanol fixation yields increased tissue-background density differences due to the dehydrating and delipidifying effects of ethanol.PURPOSE:
To obtain high image contrast of cerebral white matter structures in PCI, tissue fixation using ethanol and routinely used formalin have been examined. MATERIAL ANDMETHODS:
Ethanol-fixed (EF) (n = 4) and formalin-fixed (FF) (n = 4) rat brains were imaged by crystal X-ray interferometry-based PCI. Tissue staining/microscopy was also performed for histological comparison and myelin density evaluation. Three-dimensional white matter tract images were reconstructed.RESULTS:
Superior image contrast was obtained in the images of EF brains (EF images) compared to those of formalin-fixed brains (FF images), particularly for white matter structures. Significant density differences between the white matter structures and hippocampus (P < 0.01)/thalamus (P < 0.001) were observed in the EF, but not FF, images. Ethanol fixation enhanced the image contrast of white matter tracts by approximately sixfold compared to formalin fixation, and close agreement (r2 = 0.97; P < 0.05) between the density values on the CT images and the myelin density values in histological images was observed for the EF brains. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the white matter tracts was possible from the EF images, but not FF images.CONCLUSION:
Ethanol fixation resulted in marked contrast enhancement of cerebral white matter structures in PCI. Thus, high-resolution PCI using ethanol for tissue fixation could be valuable for experimental neurological studies and postmortem neuropathology evaluation.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Etanol
/
Substância Branca
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Acta Radiol
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article