Magnetic resonance imaging approaches for studying mouse models of multiple sclerosis: A mini review

Given that multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex disease with an unclear etiology, a single animal model is unlikely to accurately represent all aspects of pathology and clinical features of the human condition. However, the availability of three major types of murine models of MS, that is, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), viral models, and toxic models, enables studies of several relevant features of this debilitating disease. Researchers have recently begun to combine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies with other experimental strategies to acquire complementary information, for example, anatomical and functional, and study the effect of experimental manipulations longitudinally in a noninvasive way. This review summarizes the latest MRI studies investigating critical aspects of MS, such as atrophy, demyelination, neuroaxonal damage, and neuroinflammation, in mouse models of MS. Advanced techniques will be briefly discussed, providing references to specialized literature for the readers. Thus, this review aims to describe different imaging protocols used to study critical aspects of MS in a research laboratory, discussing the main related findings in the most significant murine models of the disease.