Three-dimensional imaging of microvasculature in the rat spinal cord following injury

Research studies on the three-dimensional (3D) morphological alterations of the spinal cord microvasculature after injury provide insight into the pathology of spinal cord injury (SCI). Knowledge in this field has been hampered in the past by imaging technologies that provided only two-dimensional (2D) information on the vascular reactions to trauma. The aim of our study is to investigate the 3D microstructural changes of the rat spinal cord microvasculature on day 1 post-injury using synchrotron radiation micro-tomography (SRμCT). This technology provides high-resolution 3D images of microvasculature in both normal and injured spinal cords and the smallest vessel detected is approximately 7.4 μm. Moreover, we optimized the 3D vascular visualization with color coding and accurately calculated quantitative changes in vascular architecture after SCI. Compared to the control spinal cord, the damaged spinal cord vessel numbers decreased significantly following injury. Furthermore, the area of injury did not remain concentrated at the epicenter; rather, the signs of damage expanded rostrally and caudally along the spinal cord in 3D. The observed pathological changes were also confirmed by histological tests. These results demonstrate that SRμCT is an effective technology platform for imaging pathological changes in small arteries in neurovascular disease and for evaluating therapeutic interventions.