Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andrea Capozzi
Summary: Currently, dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (dDNP) is the only clinically available hyperpolarization technique for C-13-MRI. However, its adoption in everyday clinical practice is limited due to the short hyperpolarization lifetime after dissolution and the need for an on-site dDNP polarizer. Efforts have been made to develop transportable hyperpolarization methods, but so far, these attempts have been limited to small-scale proof-of-principle experiments. To bridge the technical gap with PET and provide MRI facilities with long-lasting hyperpolarized compounds, a new generation of low-cost and small-footprint liquid He cryostats equipped with a magnetically enforced cryogenic probe is needed.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Anthony M. Carter
Summary: The hormones secreted by the placenta have effects on maternal physiology, but their specific functions are not yet fully understood. Different species have evolved their own sets of placental hormones, some of which show convergent evolution and overlapping functions.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Christian Hilty, Dennis Kurzbach, Lucio Frydman
Summary: NMR spectroscopy is the only method to access the structural dynamics of biomolecules in their native solution state. To overcome its low sensitivity, researchers have developed a technique using "hyperpolarized water" to boost signal intensities in NMR of proteins and nucleic acids.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Bogdan A. Rodin, Vineeth Thalakottoor, Mathieu Baudin, Nicolas Birilirakis, Geoffrey Bodenhausen, Alexandra V. Yurkovskaya, Daniel Abergel
Summary: Dynamical nuclear polarization (DNP) is a powerful method for polarizing spin-bearing nuclei through transferring electron polarization via microwave irradiation. In this study, the effects of energy transfer and spin temperature between proton (H) and deuterium (D) nuclei in DNP experiments were investigated using protonated or deuterated TEMPOL radicals as polarizing agents. The kinetic parameters and heat capacities of different reservoirs were analyzed to predict the behavior of heteronuclei. Experimental results also provided insights into the hidden spins that are not directly observable due to their proximity to the radicals.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Donghyun Hong, Georgios Batsios, Pavithra Viswanath, Anne Marie Gillespie, Manushka Vaidya, Peder E. Z. Larson, Sabrina M. Ronen
Summary: The study successfully enhanced the ability to monitor the metabolism of [2-C-13]pyruvate and [1-C-13]alpha-ketoglutarate in rat orthotopic brain tumor models by combining a specialized acquisition method, denoising, and a new quantification pipeline using LCModel. This approach could have broad applications to other hyperpolarized agents in both preclinical and clinical settings.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexandra Sotiros, Dianne Thornhill, Miriam D. Post, Virginia D. Winn, Jennifer Armstrong
Summary: In our study, there was no obvious association between inflammation and placental pathology in preeclampsia and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at the 6-month corrected age. However, it suggests that maternal malperfusion at earlier gestational age may be a risk factor for worse outcomes.
Review
Cell Biology
Brianna N. Rogers, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Jenny L. Sones
Summary: Preeclampsia (PE) in pregnant women may be associated with obesity, leukocytosis, and impaired placental development. The use of rodent models can help to better understand the pathogenesis of PE.
PHYSIOLOGICAL GENOMICS
(2022)
Review
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Yan Li, Daniel B. Vigneron, Duan Xu
Summary: Hyperpolarized carbon-13 MR metabolic imaging is crucial for acquiring real-time dynamic metabolic information and gaining insights into metabolic pathways, but faces significant challenges in broader clinical translation despite rapid development.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND MOLECULAR IMAGING
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Owen Herrock, Evangeline Deer, Lorena M. Amaral, Nathan Campbell, Darby Whitney, Nicole Ingram, Denise C. Cornelius, Ty Turner, Ja'Nasa Hardy-Hardin, George W. Booz, Tarek Ibrahim, Babbette LaMarca
Summary: This study demonstrates that B2 cells contribute to hypertension, AT1-AA, and NK cell activation in response to placental ischemia during pregnancy. Anti-BAFF therapy can attenuate hypertension, AT1-AA, NK cell activation, and APRIL levels in RUPP rats without negatively impacting fetal outcomes.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Natasha de Alwis, Sally Beard, Natalie K. Binder, Natasha Pritchard, Tu'uhevaha J. Kaitu'u-Lino, Susan P. Walker, Owen Stock, Katie Groom, Scott Petersen, Amanda Henry, Joanne M. Said, Sean Seeho, Stefan C. Kane, Stephen Tong, Lisa Hui, Natalie J. Hannan
Summary: Elevated levels of OLAH in the placenta may be associated with placental dysfunction in pregnancies complicated by preterm preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. Further research is required to understand the role of OLAH in the placenta, and whether these changes are a maternal adaptation or consequence of disease.
Article
Oncology
Ye Young Shin, Sung-Min An, Jea Sic Jeong, Seung Yun Yang, Geun-Shik Lee, Eui-Ju Hong, Eui-Bae Jeung, Seung Chul Kim, Beum-Soo An
Summary: The induction of pre-eclampsia conditions dysregulates steroid hormones through the regulation of steroidogenic enzymes, depending on specific pre-eclampsia symptoms.
MOLECULAR MEDICINE REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Ilwoo Park, Seulkee Kim, Daniela Pucciarelli, Juhyun Song, Jin Myung Choi, Kyung-Hwa Lee, Yun Hyeon Kim, Shin Jung, Woong Yoon, Jean L. Nakamura
Summary: The study demonstrated that hyperpolarized C-13 MR metabolic imaging of pyruvate can differentiate between radiation-induced necrosis and brain tumors, laying the groundwork for further clinical investigation and improved management of patients with brain tumors.
MOLECULAR IMAGING AND BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Laura Hume, Jessica C. Edge, Haidee Tinning, Dapeng Wang, Alysha S. Taylor, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Annika Geijer-Simpson, Pavle Vrljicak, Jan J. Brosens, Emma S. Lucas, Nigel A. B. Simpson, Jayne Shillito, Karen Forbes, Mary J. O'Connell, Niamh Forde
Summary: We examined the role of conserved placental mammal-specific microRNAs and their targets in regulating endometrial receptivity to implantation. The expression of miR-340-5p, -542-3p, and -671-5p in endometrial epithelial cells was influenced by progesterone exposure. Proteomic analysis showed that these microRNAs altered the expression of numerous proteins, many of which were predicted targets and regulated by progesterone. Dysregulation of these microRNAs and their targets is implicated in recurrent pregnancy loss.
Article
Developmental Biology
Emma Siragher, Amanda N. Sferruzzi-Perri
Summary: Intrauterine hypoxia affects placental structure and function, impacting fetal growth. Research shows that hypoxia can lead to changes in placental structure, vascularization, and nutrient transport capacity. Additionally, certain genes and protein signaling pathways in the placenta play a key role in mediating hypoxia-induced alterations.
Review
Reproductive Biology
Lindsey N. Block, Brittany D. Bowman, Jenna Kropp Schmidt, Logan T. Keding, Aleksandar K. Stanic, Thaddeus G. Golos
Summary: Monitoring pregnancy health is crucial for both the fetus and the mother. Analyzing extracellular vesicles may offer early detection of complications and has potential for clinical prognostics.
BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jihyun Kim, Mihajlo Novakovic, Sundaresan Jayanthi, Adonis Lupulescu, Eriks Kupce, J. Tassilo Gruenorcid, Klara Mertinkus, Andreas Oxenfarth, Harald Schwalbe, Lucio Frydman
Summary: Hadamard encoded saturation transfer can improve the efficiency and sensitivity of NOE-based NMR correlations in proteins, glycans, and RNAs. However, it fails in correlating labile protons within a pool. This study proposes an extended Hadamard scheme that allows for artifact-free correlations within the labile pool and between labile and non-labile protons, while still benefiting from Hadamard encoding and solvent repolarizations. The extended Hadamard scheme demonstrates clean, artifact-free, sensitivity-enhancing performance on RNA fragments derived from the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
Article
Neurosciences
Mikhael Azilinon, Julia Makhalova, Wafaa Zaaraoui, Samuel Medina Villalon, Patrick Viout, Tangi Roussel, Mohamed M. El Mendili, Ben Ridley, Jean-Philippe Ranjeva, Fabrice Bartolomei, Viktor Jirsa, Maxime Guye
Summary: Whole brain ionic and metabolic imaging is a potential tool for brain disease characterization. This study used sodium MRI and H-1-MR spectroscopic imaging to evaluate changes in epileptogenic networks. The study found a significant increase in sodium signal and a decrease in NAA levels in the epileptogenic zone.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Hao Chen, Ke Dai, Sijie Zhong, Jiaxu Zheng, Xinyue Zhang, Shasha Yang, Tuoyu Cao, Chaohong Wang, Ekin Karasan, Lucio Frydman, Zhiyong Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the combined application of prospective motion correction and spatial-angular locally low-rank constrained reconstruction to obtain robust, multi-shot, high-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI under substantial motion. The results demonstrate that prospective motion correction successfully removes motion artifacts and aliasing artifacts caused by shot-to-shot phase variations, highlighting its potential for mapping brain diffusivity and connectivity at high resolution.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Ricardo P. Martinho, Mukul G. Jain, Lucio Frydman
Summary: This study explores the use of two-dimensional NMR techniques to tackle the challenges of metabolic resonances in the brain. By comparing conventional and double quantum-filtered correlated spectroscopy traces, the study demonstrates the improved assignment of in vivo resonances with the aid of more sensitive ex vivo 2D acquisitions. The enhanced resolution allows for the identification of approximately 29 metabolites and provides insights into metabolite compartmentalization.
NMR IN BIOMEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Hong Li, Yu Yang, Lucio Frydman, Zhong Chen, Yulan Lin
Summary: Spatiotemporal encoding (SPEN) is a cutting-edge NMR technique that can acquire 2-D or even multidimensional NMR spectra and/or images in a single (or a few) scans. However, hardware imperfections may lead to inconsistencies between odd and even SPEN data lines, reducing spectral bandwidth and sensitivity. This study presents a reference-free calibration algorithm to correct these distortions and demonstrates its feasibility and applicability using experimental data.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Adva Cahen-Peretz, Lilah Tsaitlin-Mor, Hadas Allouche Kam, Racheli Frenkel, Maor Kabessa, Sarah M. Cohen, Michal Lipschuetz, Esther Oiknine-Djian, Sapir Lianski, Debra Goldman-Wohl, Asnat Walfisch, Michal Kovo, Michal Neeman, Dana G. Wolf, Simcha Yagel, Ofer Beharier
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a third dose of the mRNA Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine during pregnancy on maternal and neonatal immunity. The study found that the third dose significantly increased levels of antibodies in both maternal and cord blood, and this effect remained significant even when controlling for the trimester of last exposure. Mild side effects were reported following the third dose compared to the second dose.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
J. Tassilo Grun, Jihyun Kim, Sundaresan Jayanthi, Adonis Lupulescu, Eriks Kupce, Harald Schwalbe, Lucio Frydman
Summary: Magnetization transfer experiments can provide site-specific information in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Repeated saturation magnetization transfer (SMT) experiments can enhance connectivities revealed via the nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE), but may also lead to artifacts such as spill-over effects and NOE oversaturation. Another potential artifact arises when labile protons of interest are bound to 15N-labeled heteronuclei. These phenomena are experimentally demonstrated in this article, along with proposed solutions to overcome them.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Sijie Zhong, Minjia Chen, Xiaokang Wei, Ke Dai, Hao Chen, Lucio Frydman, Zhiyong Zhang
Summary: The study characterizes the mechanism of aliasing artifacts and edge ghosts in SPEN MRI and suggests a k-space theoretical framework to understand and remove these artifacts. The k-space model allows for a deconvolution process, quantifying the difference between full sampling and undersampled SPEN reconstructions. The results reveal that aliasing artifacts stem from high-frequency k-space signals, and the k-space picture provides insights into the artifacts and ways to remove them, which were successfully applied to reduce artifacts in simulated, phantom, and human brain MRI data.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Martins Otikovs, Orith Portnoy, Debbie Anaby, Barak Rosenzweig, Noam Nissan, Lucio Frydman
Summary: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and reliability of a DWI protocol based on SPEN for targeting prostate lesions. The results showed that SPEN provided comparable information to EPI in most cases, but EPI had advantages in certain situations. The findings of this study suggest that SPEN-based DWI has potential clinical value for detecting prostate lesions.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ofer Beharier, Michal Neeman
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tamar Wolf, Anna Eden-Kossoy, Lucio Frydman
Summary: Static satellite-transitions (ST) NMR line shapes from half-integer quadrupolar nuclei can provide insights about local motions and variations in quadrupolar parameters. However, these transitions are typically invisible due to low signal-to-noise ratio. The PROgressive Saturation of the Proton Reservoir (PROSPR) method enhances NMR sensitivity for challenging species, allowing the detection of ST NMR for Cl-35, S-33, and even O-17 at natural abundance. This opens new approaches to probe ultra-wideline spectra and investigate dynamic changes in solids.
SOLID STATE NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jihyun Kim, J. Tassilo Grun, Mihajlo Novakovic, Eriks Kupce, Rina Rosenzweig, Lucio Frydman
Summary: This paper discusses a new cross polarization (CP) strategy that combines frequency-swept and phase-modulated pulses to improve the efficiency of N-15 transfers. Theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that this new strategy outperforms current options on urea, amino acids, and intrinsically disordered proteins.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Elton T. Montrazi, Qingjia Bao, Ricardo P. Martinho, Dana C. Peters, Talia Harris, Keren Sasson, Lilach Agemy, Avigdor Scherz, Lucio Frydman
Summary: Deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) is a promising molecular MRI approach that uses deuterated substrates and their metabolization to diagnose cancer. This study explores advanced processing methods to increase DMI's sensitivity, including compressed sensing multiplicative denoising and block-matching/3D filtering. Two new methods are proposed that enhance the sensitivity of spectral images and metabolic kinetics, showing significant improvement in pancreatic cancer studies.
NMR IN BIOMEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Mihajlo Novakovic, Jihyun Kim, Xun-Cheng Su, Eriks Kupce, Lucio Frydman
Summary: The study explores scenarios where sensitivity enhancements in NMR can be achieved without solvent exchange, such as in biomolecular paramagnetic systems and small organic molecules. Similar sensitivity boosts can be obtained through differential paramagnetic shift and relaxation or polarization sharing among networks of protons. The origin and potential of these enhancements are analyzed, and experimental examples in protein and natural products are provided. Limitations and future improvements are also discussed.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Adam R. Altenhof, Michael J. Jaroszewicz, Lucio Frydman, Robert W. Schurko
Summary: Currently, there are no reliable methods for separating and resolving overlapping powder patterns in ultra-wideline (UW) solid-state NMR spectra under static conditions. However, relaxation assisted separation (RAS) techniques, which exploit relaxation differences, have been successful in MRI and solution-state NMR for separating such signals. In this study, we implement principal component analysis (PCA) denoising and regularization techniques to improve the resolution of overlapped patterns in the RAS method, and extend these methods to 3D frequency-R-1-R-2 correlation spectra. The results show improved pattern resolution, indicating great potential for separating overlapping powder patterns under both static and magic-angle spinning (MAS) conditions.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)