Nanostructure-specific X-ray tomography reveals myelin levels, integrity and axon orientations in mouse and human nervous tissue
- Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland); New York Univ. (NYU), NY (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
- Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland)
- Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland); Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
- Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
- Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Gothenburg (Sweden)
- Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
- Univ. of Denver, CO (United States)
- New York Univ. (NYU), NY (United States)
- Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore, MD (United States)
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland)
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland); Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland)
Myelin insulates neuronal axons and enables fast signal transmission, constituting a key component of brain development, aging and disease. Yet, myelin-specific imaging of macroscopic samples remains a challenge. Here, we exploit myelin’s nanostructural periodicity, and use small-angle X-ray scattering tensor tomography (SAXS-TT) to simultaneously quantify myelin levels, nanostructural integrity and axon orientations in nervous tissue. Proof-of-principle is demonstrated in whole mouse brain, mouse spinal cord and human white and gray matter samples. Outcomes are validated by 2D/3D histology and compared to MRI measurements sensitive to myelin and axon orientations. Specificity to nanostructure is exemplified by concomitantly imaging different myelin types with distinct periodicities. Finally, we illustrate the method’s sensitivity towards myelin-related diseases by quantifying myelin alterations in dysmyelinated mouse brain. This non-destructive, stain-free molecular imaging approach enables quantitative studies of myelination within and across samples during development, aging, disease and treatment, and is applicable to other ordered biomolecules or nanostructures.
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515; SC0012704; KP1605010; P400PM_180773; P2EZP3_168920; P41GM103393; R01 NS088040; R01 AG06112001; S10OD021512; NIGMS T34 6M096958; NIH/NCI 5P30CA016087; NIH/NIBIB P41GM103393; S10 OD012331
- OSTI ID:
- 1808596
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1817356
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-222056-2021-JAAM; TRN: US2212914
- Journal Information:
- Nature Communications, Vol. 12, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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