Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Histopathological Visualization of Human Dural Lymphatic Vessels
Seung-Kwon Ha,
Govind Nair,
Martina Absinta,
Nicholas Luciano,
Daniel Reich
Affiliations
Seung-Kwon Ha
Division of Neuroimmunology and Neurovirology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
Govind Nair
Division of Neuroimmunology and Neurovirology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
Martina Absinta
Division of Neuroimmunology and Neurovirology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
Nicholas Luciano
Division of Neuroimmunology and Neurovirology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
Daniel Reich
Division of Neuroimmunology and Neurovirology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
In this protocol, we describe a method to visualize and map dural lymphatic vessels in-vivo using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ex-vivo using histopathological techniques. While MRI protocols for routine imaging of meningeal lymphatics include contrast-enhanced T2-FLAIR and T1-weighted black-blood imaging, a more specific 3D mapping of the lymphatic system can be obtained by administering two distinct gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents on different days (gadofosveset and gadobutrol) and subsequently processing images acquired before and after administration of each type of contrast. In addition, we introduce methods for optimal immunostaining of lymphatic and blood vessel markers in human dura mater ex-vivo.
