Using quantitative MRI to study brain responses to immune challenge with interferon-α

Maria Antonietta Nettis; Andrew J. Lawrence; Tobias Wood; Nicole Mariani; Naghmeh Nikkheslat; Giulia Lombardo; Daniela Enache; Mattia Veronese; Federico E. Turkheimer; Paola Dazzan; Carmine M. Pariante; Valeria Mondelli

Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health (Dec 2021)

Using quantitative MRI to study brain responses to immune challenge with interferon-α

Maria Antonietta Nettis,
Andrew J. Lawrence,
Tobias Wood,
Nicole Mariani,
Naghmeh Nikkheslat,
Giulia Lombardo,
Daniela Enache,
Mattia Veronese,
Federico E. Turkheimer,
Paola Dazzan,
Carmine M. Pariante,
Valeria Mondelli

Affiliations

Maria Antonietta Nettis: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK; Corresponding author. G.33.81 The Maurice Wohl Institute of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, Cutcombe road, SE59RT, London, UK.
Andrew J. Lawrence: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK
Tobias Wood: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuroimaging, London, UK
Nicole Mariani: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK
Naghmeh Nikkheslat: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK
Giulia Lombardo: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK
Daniela Enache: Karolinska Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Stockholm, Sweden
Mattia Veronese: National Institute for Health Research Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK; King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuroimaging, London, UK
Federico E. Turkheimer: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuroimaging, London, UK
Paola Dazzan: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK
Carmine M. Pariante: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK
Valeria Mondelli: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK; National Institute for Health Research Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 18
p. 100376

Abstract

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Inflammatory processes in the Central Nervous System (CNS) have been proposed to mediate the association between peripheral inflammation and the development of psychiatric disorders, but we currently lack sensitive measures of CNS inflammation for human studies in vivo. Here we used quantitative MRI (qMRI) to explore the in vivo central response to a peripheral immune challenge in healthy humans, and we assessed whether changes in quantitative relaxometry MRI parameters were associated with changes in peripheral inflammation.Quantitative relaxation times (T1 & T2) and Proton Density (PD) were measured in n = 6 healthy males (mean age = 30.5 ± 6.8 years) in two MRI assessments collected before and 24 hours after a subcutaneous injection of the proinflammatory cytokine and immune activator, interferon-alpha (IFN-α). Serum levels of immune markers and markers of blood-brain barrier integrity (S100B) were also measured before and after the injection.Region of interest and histogram-based analyses (optimized for the small sample size) showed a statistically significant increase of both T1 (t(5) = 3.78, p = 0.013) and PD (t(5) = 2.91, p = 0.033) parameters in the bilateral hippocampus after IFN-α administration. T1 peak values in bilateral hippocampus were positively correlated with serum Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha levels at 24 h after the injection, when this cytokine peaked (Spearman's rho = 0.67, p = 0.018) and negatively correlated with S100B levels (Spearman's rho = −0.826, p = 0.001).Our data suggest that peripheral administration of IFN-α produces acute changes in brain qMRI which might indicate a brain immune response. This is supported by the association of such changes with low-grade peripheral inflammation.

Published in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health

ISSN: 2666-3546 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/brain-behavior-and-immunity-health

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