Table 7_Cross-modality network phenotyping: a multivariate MRI biomarker signature predicts spatial pathology and clinical severity in EAE.xlsx

In the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, standard disease evaluations rely heavily on subjective clinical motor scoring and terminal histology, which frequently suffer from a mathematical dilution effect. To address this, we developed an automated, spatially targeted multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pipeline to extract highly specific in vivo biophysical markers and benchmarked its performance against a potent positive control immunomodulator, fingolimod.</p>Methods<p>EAE was induced in mice using a myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide, followed by treatment with either vehicle or fingolimod.

At 28 days post-induction, in vivo T2-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging maps of the lumbar spinal cord were acquired and segmented into specific gray and white matter columns. The extracted MRI parameters were cross-correlated with clinical scores, spatial histopathology, and flow cytometry.</p>Results<p>Vehicle-treated mice exhibited severe elevations in gray matter T2 relaxation times and precipitous drops in white matter fractional anisotropy, structurally mapping to localized edema, demyelination, and dense cellular infiltrates.