近日，华南师范大学的杨思华&申琪及其研究小组与海南大学的周非凡等人合作并取得一项新进展。经过不懈努力，他们利用立体宽视场光声显微镜深入理解活体脑膜淋巴管。相关研究成果已于2024年4月25日在国际知名学术期刊《光：科学与应用》上发表。

该研究团队利用双对比功能光声显微镜，成功实现了淋巴系统，包括脑膜淋巴管（mLVs）和淋巴通路的宽视场活体成像。他们采用的光声共聚焦技术，具备3.75mm的深度成像能力，这对于区分脑实质内的脑膜和淋巴通路上的mLVs至关重要。随后，使用该成像技术，研究人员能够可视化mLVs的动态引流过程，并确定注射后20-40min左右出现的峰值引流期，以及从脑脊液（CSF）到淋巴结的流动方向。

令人鼓舞的是，在阿尔茨海默病(AD)小鼠模型中，研究人员观察到与野生型小鼠相比，AD小鼠的mLV引流量减少了约70%，且随着AD病情的进展，mLVs的引流量持续减少。这一发现明确指出了AD小鼠模型中脑脊液引流受损的情况。这项研究为理解大脑的引流机制，和剖析mLVs相关的神经系统疾病开辟了新的视角。

据悉，脑膜淋巴管(mLVs)在调节脑脊液(CSF)代谢废物中起关键作用。然而，现有成像技术在视场和分辨率方面的局限性，阻碍了对mLVs在体内的立体形态和动态行为的理解。

附：英文原文

Title: Advancing insights into in vivo meningeal lymphatic vessels with stereoscopic wide-field photoacoustic microscopy

Author: Yang, Fei, Wang, Zhiyang, Shi, Wenbin, Wang, Miao, Ma, Rui, Zhang, Wuyu, Li, Xipeng, Wang, Erqi, Xie, Wenjie, Zhang, Zhan, Shen, Qi, Zhou, Feifan, Yang, Sihua

Issue&Volume: 2024-04-25

Abstract: Meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs) play a pivotal role in regulating metabolic waste from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). However, the current limitations in field of view and resolution of existing imaging techniques impede understanding the stereoscopic morphology and dynamic behavior of mLVs in vivo. Here, we utilized dual-contrast functional photoacoustic microscopy to achieve wide-field intravital imaging of the lymphatic system, including mLVs and glymphatic pathways. The stereoscopic photoacoustic microscopy based on opto-acoustic confocal features has a depth imaging capability of 3.75mm, facilitating differentiation between mLVs on the meninges and glymphatic pathways within the brain parenchyma. Subsequently, using this imaging technique, we were able to visualize the dynamic drainage of mLVs and identify a peak drainage period occurring around 20–40min after injection, along with determining the flow direction from CSF to lymph nodes. Inspiringly, in the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse model, we observed that AD mice exhibit a~70% reduction in drainage volume of mLVs compared to wild-type mice. With the development of AD, there is be continued decline in mLVs drainage volume. This finding clearly demonstrates that the AD mouse model has impaired CSF drainage. Our study opens up a horizon for understanding the brain’s drainage mechanism and dissecting mLVs-associated neurological disorders.

DOI: 10.1038/s41377-024-01450-0

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-024-01450-0