High-resolution manganese-enhanced MRI of experimental retinopathy of prematurity.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that in experimental retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), retinal neovascularization (NV) and vessel tortuosity have distinct spatial and temporal links with receptor and postreceptor ion demand. METHODS: Newborn rats were raised in either room air (controls) or variable oxygen (50%/10% [50/10]). After 14 days, 50/10 rats were recovered in room air until postnatal day (P) 19 or P22. Peripheral retinal NV severity and incidence and panretinal arteriole and venule tortuosity indexes (TI(a), TI(v)) were measured from ADPase-stained retinal wholemounts. Intraretinal ion demand and retinal thickness were measured from high-resolution manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI). In separate experiments, intraretinal manganese uptake was also measured in adult rats pretreated with diltiazem, a Ca(2+) channel antagonist. RESULTS: In 50/10 rats, peripheral retinal NV severity was significantly greater than in controls at P19 and was decreased by P22. Panretinal TI(a) and TI(v) were increased over control values at P19, but only TI(v) decreased by P22. Unlike control retinas at P19 that had a centroperipheral total retinal thickness gradient, 50/10 retinas had similar central and peripheral total retinal thickness. The 50/10 group also demonstrated a correlation between peripheral retinal NV and TI(a) and TI(v). Peripheral intraretinal uptake of manganese was significantly supernormal at P19 and decreased by P22. Increased peripheral intraretinal retinal manganese uptake was associated with peripheral NV severity and panretinal TI(a). In contrast, ion demand of central postreceptor, but not receptor, retina was significantly associated with peripheral NV severity and panretinal TI(a). Panretinal TI(v) was not correlated with intraretinal ion demand in any case. In adult rats, diltiazem suppressed (P < 0.05) intraretinal manganese uptake. CONCLUSIONS: The present data raise the possibility that altered retinal layer-specific ion demand causes retinal circulation abnormalities in experimental ROP.

Impaired apparent ion demand in experimental diabetic retinopathy: correction by lipoic Acid.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that early in the course of diabetes, apparent ion demand within the retina is impaired and may be corrected by alpha-lipoic acid (LPA), a drug that inhibits vascular histopathology. METHODS: Intraretinal manganese ion uptake and retinal thickness were measured from high-resolution manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) data of control and streptozocin diabetic male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and of control and diabetic female Lewis rats with and without treatment with LPA. In a subgroup of male SD rats, blood-retinal barrier (BRB) integrity was also assessed with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. In addition, ion-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to measure baseline whole manganese levels from retinas of control and diabetic rats. RESULTS: Manganese ion uptake by receptor and postreceptor retina was subnormal in each untreated diabetic groups, and these deficiencies could be corrected with LPA treatment. ICP-MS studies found no differences in baseline retinal manganese concentration between control and diabetic rats. In 3-month-old diabetic male SD rats, total and postreceptor retinal thickness increased (P < 0.05) without loss of BRB integrity. In contrast, in untreated and treated diabetic female Lewis rats, retinal thicknesses were normal. CONCLUSIONS: The present results support the hypothesis that LPA can correct the impaired apparent ion demand in experimental diabetic retinopathy.

Manganese-enhanced MRI of human choroidal melanoma xenografts.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that the structure and function of an experimental human choroidal melanoma xenograft and neighboring non-tumor-bearing retina can be simultaneously assessed by using manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI). METHODS: Spheroids grown from the human choroidal melanoma cell line C918 were implanted in the superior suprachoroidal space of 11 WAG/Nij-rnu nude rats. Two weeks later, MRI data were collected 4 hours after intraperitoneal injection of saline or MnCl(2), an MRI contrast agent that can act as a biomarker of cellular demand for ions, such as calcium. The following parameters were measured: (1) tumor signal intensity, (2) inner and outer retinal signal intensity in non-tumor-bearing inferior retina, and (3) whole and inner retinal thickness of inferior retina. Separate MEMRI experiments were performed on spheroids in vitro after MnCl(2) exposure and washing. RESULTS: In vitro, spheroids exposed to MnCl(2) retained sufficient Mn(2+) to demonstrate contrast enhancement during MEMRI. In vivo, injection of MnCl(2) resulted in a 30% increase in tumor signal intensity compared with tumors in rats injected with saline (P < 0.05). In inferior retina of tumor-bearing eyes, outer retinal signal intensity increased by 17% relative to a similar region in control eyes (P < 0.05), but there was no change in the inferior inner retinal intensity. Total retinal thickness of the inferior retina in the tumor-bearing eyes increased by 8%, compared with that in the non-tumor-bearing eyes (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present identification of regions of enhanced Mn(2+) uptake in choroidal melanoma and a somewhat unexpected edema and increased outer retinal ion demand in neighboring non-tumor-bearing retina highlights MEMRI as a potentially powerful method for noninvasively monitoring tumor progression and treatment response and efficacy.

Manganese-enhanced MRI studies of alterations of intraretinal ion demand in models of ocular injury.

PURPOSE: To provide proof-of-concept that the extent of intraretinal manganese uptake after systemic MnCl(2) injection, detected with manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI), assesses alterations in intraretinal ion demand in models of ocular insult. METHODS: In Sprague-Dawley rats, retinal ion demand and thickness were measured from MEMRI data collected before, 4 hours after, or 1, 3, and 7 days after intraperitoneal injection of MnCl(2). Choroidal contribution or blood-retinal barrier permeability surface area product (BRB PS') was determined using MRI after Gd-DTPA injection. Ocular injury was evaluated 24 hours after intravitreal injection of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, vehicle) or PBS + ouabain, or after intraperitoneal injection of sodium iodate. Manganese retinal toxicity was assessed by comparing full-field, white-flash electroretinographic (ERG) data obtained before and after systemic MnCl(2) administration. Rat choroidal thickness was measured from cross-sections prepared from paraformaldehyde-perfused adult rats. RESULTS: Comparing pre- and post-Gd-DTPA images demonstrated minimal choroidal contribution to intraretinal analysis. Intraretinal signal intensity returned to baseline by 7 days after MnCl(2) injection. After ouabain injection, receptor and postreceptor uptake of manganese were subnormal (P < 0.05). After sodium iodate exposure, intraretinal manganese uptake was supernormal (P < 0.05) and did not increase with increasing BRB PS'. ERG data did not show any effect of MnCl(2) on photoreceptor a-wave and postreceptor b-wave relative to baseline at either observation time. CONCLUSIONS: MEMRI measurements of uptake of systemically administered and nontoxic doses of manganese appear to be a powerful approach for measuring alteration in intraretinal ion demand in models of ocular injury.

Retinal ion regulation in a mouse model of diabetic retinopathy: natural history and the effect of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase overexpression.

PURPOSE: To test the hypotheses that manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) is useful in evaluating intraretinal ion dysregulation in wild-type (WT) and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) overexpressor mice. METHODS: Central intraretinal ion activity and retinal thickness were measured from high-resolution data of light- and dark-adapted WT C57BL/6 mice (to gauge MEMRI sensitivity to normal visual processing in mice) and dark-adapted diabetic and nondiabetic WT and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase overexpressor (SOD1OE) mice. Glycated hemoglobin and retinal vascular histopathology were also determined. RESULTS: In WT mice, light adaptation reduced outer retinal manganese uptake compared with that in dark adaptation; no effect on inner retinal uptake was found. In diabetic WT mice, intraretinal manganese uptake became subnormal between 1.5 and 4 months of diabetes onset and then relatively increased. Central retinal thickness, as determined with MEMRI, decreased as a function of age in diabetic mice but remained constant in control mice. Nondiabetic SOD1OE mice had normal retinal manganese uptake but subnormal retinal thickness and supernormal acellular capillary density. At 4.2 months of diabetes, SOD1OE mice had normal manganese uptake and no further thinning; acellular capillaries frequency did not increase by 9 to 10 months of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: In emerging diabetic retinopathy, MEMRI provided an analytic measure of an ionic dysregulatory pattern that was sensitive to SOD1 overexpression. The potential benefit of SOD1 overexpression to inhibit retinal abnormality in this model is limited by the retinal and vascular degeneration that develops independently of diabetes.

Quantitative mapping of ion channel regulation by visual cycle activity in rodent photoreceptors in vivo.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that the extent of outer retina uptake of manganese, measured noninvasively with manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI), is a quantitative biomarker of photoreceptor ion channel regulation by visual cycle activity. METHODS: Four groups of animals were studied: control rats adapted to three different background light intensities, dark-adapted control mice systemically pretreated with retinylamine, and dark-adapted mice with a nonsense mutation in exon 3 of the RPE65 gene (RPE65(rd12)) with and without systemic 11-cis-retinal pretreatment. In all cases, rodents were anesthetized and studied with MEMRI 4 hours after manganese administration IP. Central retinal thickness and intraretinal ion channel regulation were measured from the MEMRI data. RESULT: No differences (P>0.05) in retinal thickness were noted within any arm of this study. In rats, manganese uptake was inversely proportional to the background light intensity in the outer retina but not in the inner retina. Specific inhibition at the level of RPE65 activity, either acutely with retinylamine or chronically in RPE65(rd12) mice, similarly reduced (P<0.05) outer retinal manganese uptake compared with that in control mice. In RPE65(rd12) mice, outer retinal manganese uptake returned to normal (P>0.05) after 11-cis retinal treatment. Inner retinal uptake was supernormal (P<0.05) in retinylamine-treated mice but normal in untreated or 11-cis treated RPE65(rd12) mice. CONCLUSIONS: The present data support measuring the extent of manganese uptake in the outer retina as an analytic noninvasive metric of visual cycle regulation of photoreceptor ion channel activity in vivo.

Manganese-enhanced MRI of the DBA/2J mouse model of hereditary glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) is a sensitive approach for measuring of age-related ocular changes in experimental pigmentary glaucoma. METHODS: Four groups of light-adapted mice were studied using MEMRI: young (2-3 months), C57BL/6 (negative controls), and DBA/2J mice and aged (10-11 months) C57BL/6 and DBA/2J mice. In all mice, eye perimeter, optic nerve head width, iridocorneal angle, ciliary body area, and total and inner retinal thickness, and a surrogate of retinal ion regulation (intraretinal uptake of manganese) were assessed from MEMRI data and compared. Axon counts were obtained from optic nerves harvested from MEMRI-assessed eyes. RESULTS: As the C57BL/6 and DBA/2J mice aged, differential and significant changes in ocular perimeter, retinal thickness, iridocorneal angle, ciliary body area, and optic nerve head width were readily measured from MEMRI data (P < 0.05). In C57BL/6 mice, only inner retinal thickness and perimeter were correlated. In DBA/2J mice, ocular perimeter was correlated with total and inner retinal thickness, ciliary body area, optic nerve head width, and iridocorneal angle. Comparison of young and aged mice revealed a subnormal intraretinal manganese uptake (P < 0.05) in aged DBA/2J mice, but not in aged C57BL/6 mice. Manganese uptake did not correlate with the ocular perimeter. Axon density in the optic nerve correlated with MEMRI-measured optic nerve head width (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These studies provide a baseline of noninvasive MEMRI-detectable changes associated with age in a common animal model of hereditary glaucoma that may be useful in the longitudinal evaluation of therapeutic success.

Ionic dysregulatory phenotyping of pathologic retinal thinning with manganese-enhanced MRI.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) provides a sensitive and robust measure of an important retinal ionic dysregulatory phenotype in pathologic retinal thinning. METHODS: Four hours after intraperitoneal MnCl(2) injection, high-resolution MEMRI data were collected from overnight dark-adapted male control Sprague-Dawley and albino Royal College of Surgeons rats before (at development stage postnatal day [P] 17) and during photoreceptor degeneration (P36 and P57). In separate experiments, control rats, with and without repetitive hypoxic preconditioning, were subjected to high IOP (100 mm Hg) for 60 minutes followed by 24 hours or 7 days of reperfusion (e.g., ischemia/reperfusion). Central retinal thickness and intraretinal ion activity were measured from the MEMRI data. Histology examination was also performed to confirm retinal damage. RESULTS: In two different neurodegenerative models, MEMRI revealed first-time evidence for changes (P < 0.05) in intraretinal ion regulation before and during pathologic, but not (P > 0.05) developmental, retinal thinning. This phenotype was significantly altered by a neuroprotective repetitive hypoxic preconditioning protocol. CONCLUSIONS: MEMRI and a nontoxic systemic dose of MnCl(2) provided an objective, noninvasive measure of an ionic deregulatory phenotype that appears useful for improved early diagnosis and treatment prognosis in a range of neurodegenerative diseases and their treatment.