Abstract
BackgroundMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has many advantages in the research of in vivo embryonic brain development, specifically its noninvasive aspects and ability to avoid skeletal interference. However, few studies have focused on brain development in chick, which is a traditional animal model in developmental biology. We aimed to serially monitor chick embryo brain development in vivo using 3.0 T MRI.MethodsTen fertile Hy-line white eggs were incubated and seven chick embryo brains were monitored in vivo and analyzed serially from 5 to 20 days during incubation using 3.0 T MRI. A fast positioning sequence was pre-scanned to obtain sagittal and coronal brain planes corresponding to the established atlas. T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) was performed for volume estimation of the whole brain and subdivision (telencephalon, cerebellum, brainstem, and lateral ventricle [LV]); diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to reflect the evolution of neural bundle structures.ResultsThe chick embryos’ whole brain and subdivision grew non-linearly over time; the DTI fractional anisotropy (FA) value within the telencephalon increased non-linearly as well. All seven scanned eggs hatched successfully.ConclusionsMRI avoids embryonic sacrifice in a way that allows serial monitoring of longitudinal developmental processes of a single embryo. Feasibility for analyzing subdivision of the brain during development, and adding structural information related to neural bundles, makes MRI a powerful tool for exploring brain development.
Highlights
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has many advantages in the research of in vivo embryonic brain development, its noninvasive aspects and ability to avoid skeletal interference
There are few in vivo MRI studies assessing serial brain development of the chick embryo
All seven scanned eggs were normally developing from 5 to 20 days of incubation, and hatched successfully after 23 days of incubation
Summary
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has many advantages in the research of in vivo embryonic brain development, its noninvasive aspects and ability to avoid skeletal interference. There are few in vivo MRI studies assessing serial brain development of the chick embryo. Bain et al [16] estimated the brain volume of developing chick embryos using a 7.0 T MRI system, but images were only obtained at late developmental stages (12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 days during incubation). Images with a 3D MRI sequence have high isotropic spatial resolution and could be used to reconstruct standard axial, sagittal, and coronal slices corresponding to an established atlas during post-processing. This is sometimes a less attractive option for in vivo research because of long scan durations [19]. When obtaining 2D images with high resolution, adjusting the positioning lines and using a fast positioning sequence with a large field of view (FOV) and thick slice are usually needed to obtain axial, sagittal, and coronal slices (which often requires repeated attempts)
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