Disentangling molecular alterations from water-content changes in the aging human brain using quantitative MRI

Shir Filo, Oshrat Shtangel, Noga Salamon, Adi Kol, Batsheva Weisinger, Sagiv Shifman and Aviv A. Mezer ()
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Shir Filo: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Oshrat Shtangel: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Noga Salamon: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Adi Kol: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Batsheva Weisinger: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Sagiv Shifman: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Aviv A. Mezer: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract It is an open question whether aging-related changes throughout the brain are driven by a common factor or result from several distinct molecular mechanisms. Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) provides biophysical parametric measurements allowing for non-invasive mapping of the aging human brain. However, qMRI measurements change in response to both molecular composition and water content. Here, we present a tissue relaxivity approach that disentangles these two tissue components and decodes molecular information from the MRI signal. Our approach enables us to reveal the molecular composition of lipid samples and predict lipidomics measurements of the brain. It produces unique molecular signatures across the brain, which are correlated with specific gene-expression profiles. We uncover region-specific molecular changes associated with brain aging. These changes are independent from other MRI aging markers. Our approach opens the door to a quantitative characterization of the biological sources for aging, that until now was possible only post-mortem.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11319-1

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