Longitudinal cortex-wide monitoring of cerebral hemodynamics and oxygen metabolism in awake mice using multi-parametric photoacoustic microscopy. Issue 12 (December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sciortino, Vincent M; Tran, Angela; Sun, Naidi; Cao, Rui; Sun, Tao; Sun, Yu-Yo; Yan, Ping; Zhong, Fenghe; Zhou, Yifeng; Kuan, Chia-Yi; Lee, Jin-Moo; Hu, Song
• Is Part Of: Journal of cerebral blood flow & metabolism. Volume 41:Issue 12(2021)
• Page Start: 3187
• Page End: 3199
• Publication Date: 2021-12
• Subjects: Photoacoustic microscopy -- longitudinal imaging -- cranial window -- cerebral vasculature -- oxygen metabolism; Cerebral circulation -- Periodicals; Brain -- Metabolism -- Periodicals; Brain -- Blood-vessels -- Periodicals; Cerebrovascular disease -- Periodicals; 612.824
• DOI: 10.1177/0271678X211034096
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0271-678X

Abstract

Multi-parametric photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) has emerged as a promising new technique for high-resolution quantification of hemodynamics and oxygen metabolism in the mouse brain. In this work, we have extended the scope of multi-parametric PAM to longitudinal, cortex-wide, awake-brain imaging with the use of a long-lifetime (24 weeks), wide-field (5 × 7 mm 2 ), light-weight (2 g), dual-transparency ( i.e., light and ultrasound) cranial window. Cerebrovascular responses to the window installation were examined in vivo, showing a complete recovery in 18 days. In the 22-week monitoring after the recovery, no dura thickening, skull regrowth, or changes in cerebrovascular structure and function were observed. The promise of this technique was demonstrated by monitoring vascular and metabolic responses of the awake mouse brain to ischemic stroke throughout the acute, subacute, and chronic stages. Side-by-side comparison of the responses in the ipsilateral (injury) and contralateral (control) cortices shows that despite an early recovery of cerebral blood flow and an increase in microvessel density, a long-lasting deficit in cerebral oxygen metabolism was observed throughout the chronic stage in the injured cortex, part of which proceeded to infarction. This longitudinal, functional-metabolic imaging technique opens new opportunities to study the chronic progression and therapeutic responses of neurovascular diseases.