Evaluation of changes in magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging of the bilateral optic tract in monocular blind rats

Some studies have used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate white matter development of the visual pathway in humans and animals after visual deprivation. However, the alterations in the bilateral optic tract after the transection of unilateral optic nerve have not been well explored. In this study, we attempted to investigate the structural integrity of and pathological changes to the bilateral optic tract after transection of the unilateral optic nerve in rats using DTI. Eight healthy male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 2 groups, with 4 in each group. Group A served as a control group. Transection of the unilateral (right) optic nerve was performed in the four rats in group B at seven days after birth to establish the early monocular blind model. Four months after the operation, MnCl2 was injected into the left eyes of all rats, and MRI examinations were performed 24h after injection. We detect the fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) values of the bilateral optic tract in all rats. In a comparison of the ipsilateral optic tract of group B with group A, a significant decrease in FA (P<0.001) and an increase in RD (P<0.01) of the left optic tract were found in group B, while no significant difference was found in the right optic tract. In group B, the FA and RD values of the left optic tract were significantly lower (P<0.01) and significantly higher (P<0.05), respectively, than those of the right optic tract. Consequently, transection of the right optic nerve can lead to structural integrity damage of and pathological changes to the left optic tract in rats. Some DTI-derived parameters (such as FA and RD) may serve as biomarkers of optic tract degeneration.