Bridging mesoscopic and microscopic scales in multiple sclerosis: Post mortem brain block multi-contrast 9.4T MRI and histology quantification
Combining ex vivo MRI mesoscopic and histopathology microscopic assessments of tissue microstructure forms a key approach in multiple sclerosis (MS) research for elucidating disease pathogenesis. We present a protocol that enables reproducible, scalable, and robust integration of MRI and histology data in MS brains. We describe steps for (1) obtaining high-resolution multi-contrast 9.4T MRI of postmortem brain blocks and (2) the usage of a custom, open-source image processing interface for robust histology-MRI registration and semi-quantitative mapping of myelin density, microglia, and cell count.
Authors
- Valerij G. Kiselev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5349-5399)
- Christine Stadelmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1766-5458)
- Ilaria Callegari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3361-3084)
- Jochen Leupold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2582-9451)
- Dominik von Elverfeldt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6219-3528)
- Matthias Weigel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4910-1414)
- Dimitrios Gkotsoulias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1584-1552)
- Erik Bahn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9747-0211)
- Cristina Granziera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4917-8761)
- Lukas Schönenberger
Institutions
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- University of Basel (CH)
- University Medical Center Freiburg (DE)
- University Hospital of Basel (CH)
- Universitätsmedizin Göttingen (DE)
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- STAR Protocols
- Published
- 2025-11-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2025.104203
- Primary Topic
- Multiple Sclerosis Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00