Biology subjects

Iannuzzi, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Iannuzzi, D..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Mechanical alterations of the hippocampus in the APP/PS1 Alzheimer's disease mouse model

There is increasing evidence of altered tissue mechanics in neurodegeneration. However, due to difficulties in mechanical testing procedures and the complexity of the brain, there is still little consensus on the role of mechanics in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. In the case of Alzheimers disease (AD), magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) studies have indicated viscoelastic differences in the brain tissue of AD and healthy patients. However, there is a lack of viscoelastic data from contact mechanical testing at higher spatial resolution. Therefore, we report viscoelastic maps of the hippocampus obtained by a dynamic indentation on brain slices from the APP/PS1 mouse model where individual brain regions are resolved. A comparison of viscoelastic parameters shows that regions in the hippocampus of the APP/PS1 mice are significantly stiffer than wild-type (WT) mice and have increased viscous dissipation. Furthermore, indentation mapping at the cellular scale directly on the plaques and their surroundings did not show local alterations in stiffness although overall mechanical heterogeneity of the tissue was high (SD~40%). Therefore, reported mechanical alterations at a tissue scale indicates global remodeling of the brain tissue structure.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Viscoelastic mapping of mouse brain tissue: relation to structure and age

There is growing evidence that mechanical factors affect brain functioning. However, brain components responsible for regulating the physiological mechanical environment and causing mechanical alterations during maturation are not completely understood. To determine the relationship between structure and stiffness of the brain tissue, we performed high resolution viscoelastic mapping by dynamic indentation of hippocampus and cerebellum of juvenile brain, and quantified relative area covered by immunohistochemical staining of NeuN (neurons), GFAP (astrocytes), Hoechst (nuclei), MBP (myelin), NN18 (axons) of juvenile and adult mouse brain slices. When compared the mechanical properties of juvenile mouse brain slices with previously obtained data on adult slices, the latter was ~ 20-150% stiffer, which correlates with an increase in the relative area covered by astrocytes. Heterogeneity within the slice, in terms of storage modulus, correlates negatively with the relative area of nuclei and neurons, as well as myelin and axons, while the relative area of astrocytes correlates positively. Several linear regression models are suggested to predict the mechanical properties of the brain tissue based on immunohistochemical stainings.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

In vivo characterization of chick embryo mesoderm by optical coherence tomography assisted microindentation

Embryos are growing organisms with highly heterogeneous properties in space and time. Understanding the mechanical properties is a crucial prerequisite for the investigation of morphogenesis. During the last ten years, new techniques have been developed to evaluate the mechanical properties of biological tissues in vivo. To address this need, we employed a new instrument that, via the combination of micro-indentation with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), allows us to determine both, the spatial distribution of mechanical properties of chick embryos and the structural changes in real-time provided by OCT. We report here the stiffness measurements on live chicken mesoderm during somite formation, from the mesenchymal tailbud to the epithelialized somites. The storage modulus of the mesoderm increases from (176{+/-}18) Pa in the tail up to (716{+/-}117) Pa in the somitic region. The midline has a storage modulus of (947{+/-}111) Pa in the caudal presomitic mesoderm, indicating a stiff rod along the body axis, which thereby mechanically supports the surrounding tissue. The difference in stiffness between midline and presomitic mesoderm decreases as the mesoderm forms somites. The viscoelastic response of the somites develops further until somite IV, which is commensurate with the slow process of epithelization of somites between S0 and SIV. Overall, this study provides an efficient method for the biomechanical characterization of soft biological tissues in vivo and shows that the mechanical properties strongly relate to different morphological features of the investigated regions.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Micro-indentation and optical coherence tomography for the mechanical characterization of embryos: Experimental setup and measurements on fixed chicken embryos.

Summary statementWe introduce an experimental technique that combines micro-indentation and optical coherence tomography to map the viscoelastic properties of embryonic tissue and investigate correlations between local mechanical features and tissue morphology. AbstractThe investigation of the mechanical properties of embryos is expected to provide valuable information on the phenomenology of morphogenesis. It is thus believed that, by mapping the viscoelastic features of an embryo at different stages of growth, it may be possible to shed light on the role of mechanics in embryonic development. To contribute to this field, we present a new instrument that can determine spatiotemporal distributions of mechanical properties of embryos over a wide area and with unprecedented accuracy. The method relies on combining ferrule-top micro-indentation, which provides local measurements of viscoelasticity, with Optical Coherence Tomography, which can reveal changes in tissue morphology and help the user to localize the indentation locations. To prove the working principle, we have collected viscoelasticity maps of fixed HH11-HH12 chicken embryos. Our study highlights the nonlinear behavior of the tissue and qualitatively shows the correlation between local mechanical properties and tissue morphology for different regions of interest.

developmental biology↗