A new bone marrow imaging technique could change treatment for cancer, autoimmune disease and musculoskeletal disorders.
Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have developed a powerful new imaging technique to study bone marrow in mouse models. By overcoming key challenges unique to imaging this complex tissue, this advancement could support future drug development and therapies for conditions involving bone marrow, including cancers, autoimmune diseases and musculoskeletal disorders.
The new method was made possible by the multiplex imaging tool Phenocycler 2.0, which enabled researchers to visualize a record number of cellular markers within intact bone marrow tissue from mice. The findings were recently published in"Bone marrow is difficult to study because it is gelatinous and encased in hard bone," said Sonali Karnik, PhD, assistant research professor of orthopedic surgery at the IU School of Medicine and co-lead author of the study."Since bone marrow plays an important role in blood and immune cell formation and houses valuable stem cells, our unique imaging approach offers a useful tool for a variety of research applications." Traditional tools like flow cytometry and standard fluorescence imaging are considered the most established methods for tissue analysis. However, flow cytometry requires disrupting complex tissues to study and quantify cell populations, and standard fluorescent imaging is limited to detecting only three cellular markers at a time. In contrast, the new methodology allowed the researchers to visualize 25 different cellular markers in intact bone marrow tissue without disruption, providing a more comprehensive view of the bone marrow to enhance the understanding of disease behaviors and the development of more effective treatments. While the tool has previously been used to study organs like the spleen and kidney, the IU Cooperative Center of Excellence in Hematology team is the first to successfully apply it to mouse bone marrow. "Because mouse models are widely used to study human diseases, this technique offers a promising new method for investigating a range of conditions like autoimmune diseases, leukemia and other disorders involving bone marrow," said Reuben Kapur, PhD, a co-senior author on the study, director of the IU School of Medicine's Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research and co-director of the IU Cooperative Center of Excellence in Hematology. The IU Innovation and Commercialization Office has filed a provisional patent for the new imaging methodology, and the team is now working to expand the marker panel to include additional features such as bone, nerves, muscle and more immune and signaling cell types. Additional IU study authors include Connor Gulbronson, Paige C. Jordan, Rahul Kanumuri, Baskar Ramdas, Ramesh Kumar, Melissa L. Hartman, Izza Khurram, Drew M. Brown, Karen E. Pollok, Pratibha Singh and Melissa A. Kacena.Sonali J. Karnik, Connor Gulbronson, Paige C. Jordan, Rahul Kanumuri, Baskar Ramdas, Ramesh Kumar, Melissa L. Hartman, Izza Khurram, Drew M. Brown, Karen E. Pollok, Pratibha Singh, Reuben Kapur, Melissa A. Kacena.Alzheimer's, stroke, multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases cause severe damage due to neuroinflammation mediated by immune cells. Managing this inflammation poses a significant medical ... An international research team presents the outcome of a thorough epidemiological investigation into possible links between nineteen of the most common autoimmune disorders and cardiovascular ... Multiple myeloma, the most common type of bone marrow cancer in Germany, almost always returns, even after initial treatment success. In the majority of cases, the reasons behind this treatment ... A potentially safer, more effective chemotherapy treatment for patients with blood-related cancers, such as leukemia, who need a particular bone marrow transplant procedure is under study. The ...
Osteoporosis Bone And Spine Stem Cells Medical Topics Medical Devices Medical Imaging Women's Health
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