cortex

Project number:

101

Project title:

Inflammation in stroke: Non invasive molecular optical imaging of blood brain barrier dysfunction and matrix metalloproteinase activation

Project supervisor:

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Dirnagl; PD Dr. Andreas Wunder

Project description:

The project has the aim to establish non-invasive optical imaging (planar and tomographic) of stroke induced inflammation.
Specifically, blood brain barrier opening will be imaged via the optical non-invasive monitoring of near infrared fluorescence (NIRF) dye, while the underlying biochemical and molecular mechanisms will be studied using matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activated NIRF imaging. High resolution, semi-invasive confirmation will be carried out with cellular resolution using multiphoton confocal microscopy through cranial windows in vivo.
Models and Techniques: Mouse focal cerebral ischemia, NIRF planar imager; NIRF Tomograph; 7 T Bruker MR Scanner; Multiphoton confocal microscopy in vivo; Immunohistochemistry; MMP activatable NIRF probes, MMP-antibody probes, NIRF-dextrane constructs.
The project team consists of imaging experts (physicists, chemists), basic neuroscientists, and clinician researchers. It is tightly connected to a clinical project in which analogous approaches are developed as diagnostic tools for stroke patients.

Possible cortex partners for rotation:

Prague: cell tracking via MR, iontophoresis
Stockholm: stem cells, imaging
Oslo: Neuroprotection, Neurodegeneration, Glutamate