Abstract:

The G93A-SOD1 mice model and MRI diffusion as a preclinical tool to study amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): ALS is a progressive neurological disease characterized primarily by the development of limb paralysis, which eventually leads to lack of control on muscles under voluntary control and death within 3–5 years. Genetic heterogeneity and environmental factors play a critical role in the rate of disease progression and patients display faster declines once the symptoms have manifested. Since its original discovery, ALS has been associated with pathological alterations in motor neurons located in the spinal cord (SC), where neuronal loss by a mutation in the protein superoxide dismutase in parenthesis (mSOD1) and impairment in axonal connectivity, have been linked to early functional impairments. In addition,mechanisms of neuroinflammation, apoptosis, necroptosis and autophagy have been also implicated in the development of this disease. Among different animal models developed to study ALS, the transgenic G93A-SOD1 mouse has become recognized as a benchmark model for preclinical screening of ALS therapies. Furthermore, the progressive alterations in the locomotor phenotype expressed in this model closely resemble the progressive lower limb dysfunction of ALS patients. Among other imaging tools, MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has emerged as a crucial, noninvasive and real time neuroimaging tool to gather information in ALS. One of the current concerns with the use of DTI is the lack of biological validation of the microstructural information given by this technique. Although clinical studies using DTI can provide a remarkable insight on the targets of neurodegeneration and disease course,they lack histological correlations. To address these shortcomings, preclinical models can be designed to validate the microstructural information unveiled by this particular MRI technique. Thus, the scope of this review is to describe how MRI diffusion and optical microscopy evaluate axonal structural changes at early stages of the disease in a preclinical model of ALS.