Brain virtual histology with X-ray phase-contrast tomography Part I: whole-brain myelin mapping in white-matter injury models

White-matter injury leads to severe functional loss in many neurological diseases. Myelin staining on histological samples is the most common technique to investigate white-matter fibers. However, tissue processing and sectioning may affect the reliability of 3D volumetric assessments. The purpose of this study was to propose an approach that enables myelin fibers to be mapped in the whole rodent brain with microscopic resolution and without the need for strenuous staining. With this aim, we coupled inline (propagation-based) X-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) to ethanol-induced brain sample dehydration. We here provide the proof-of-concept that this approach enhances myelinated axons in rodent and human brain tissue. In addition, we demonstrated that white-matter injuries could be detected and quantified with this approach, using three animal models: ischemic stroke, premature birth and multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, in analogy to diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we retrieved fiber directions and DTI-like diffusion metrics from our XPCT data to quantitatively characterize white-matter microstructure. Finally, we showed that this non-destructive approach was compatible with subsequent complementary brain sample analysis by conventional histology. In-line XPCT might thus become a novel gold-standard for investigating white-matter injury in the intact brain. This is Part I of a series of two articles reporting the value of in-line XPCT for virtual histology of the brain; Part II shows how in-line XPCT enables the whole-brain 3D morphometric analysis of amyloid-{beta} (A{beta}) plaques. HighlightsO_LIX-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) enables myelin mapping of the whole brain C_LIO_LIXPCT detects and quantifies white-matter injuries in a range of diseases C_LIO_LIFiber directions and anisotropy metrics can be retrieved from XPCT data C_LIO_LIXPCT is compatible with subsequent conventional histology of brain samples C_LIO_LIXPCT is a powerful virtual histology tool that requires minimal sample preparation C_LI Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=130 SRC="FIGDIR/small/436852v3_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (65K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b06ba6org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16b8d4aorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@91cfborg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@4dcbca_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG