Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU), Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and Shaare Zedek Medical Center (SZMC) have developed a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology that assesses iron levels in the human brain non-invasively, shedding light on its critical role in brain function, aging, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders.
People’s iron balance is disturbed in aging, neurological disorders, and cancer, they noted, but a non-invasive evaluation of distinct molecular iron environments influencing brain tissue’s iron homeostasis (balance) remains a difficulty. They claim that their technique, based on quantitative MRI, distinguishes between healthy and sick brain tissue without the use of contrast agents and gives insights into iron-related illnesses, representing a substantial development in neuroscience and healthcare.
Shir Filo and Prof. Aviv Mezer of HU headed the study team, which included Dr. Tal Shahar, director of the neurosurgical oncology unit at Sourasky’s neurosurgery department. The study, titled “Non-invasive assessment of normal and impaired iron homeostasis in the brain,” was just published in Nature Communications.
The innovative MRI technique has the potential to transform scientists’ knowledge of iron homeostasis in the human brain.
Traditional MRI scans produce qualitative images that require subjective interpretation by medical professionals, whereas quantitative MRI attempts to replicate the precision of accurately and objectively assessing body temperature when sick, moving beyond qualitative observations such as “too hot” or “too cold.”
Iron balance preservation
This necessitates complex physical models that incorporate many MRI images to generate a wide range of data. These MRI data are then used to unearth vital biological insights, such as the ability of a blood test to disclose its composition, which includes proteins, lipids, and probable abnormalities.
One key part of brain function is iron balance, which is essential for overall health. Imbalances in the iron levels in the brain have ramifications for a variety of disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. The non-invasive evaluation of the molecular iron environment within the live human brain constituted a substantial difficulty until recently.
The three universities’ research teams present a novel MRI method based on quantitative MRI that can identify changes in brain iron homeostasis. The new approach showed different paramagnetic characteristics of essential iron components such as ferritin, transferrin, and ferrous iron in their in-vitro (in a test tube or petri dish) investigations.
The genuine breakthrough came from in-vivo MRI images of brain tumor patients performed at SZMC’s neurosurgery department, where the method was also verified against ex-vivo iron compound quantification of the excised tumors. These ex-vivo transcriptomics and proteomics studies were performed in the lab of HU’s Dr. Naomi Habib, as well as SZMC’s molecular neuro-oncology lab, which was led at the time of the work by Shahar.
This novel MRI technique shows sensitivity to variations in iron mobilization ability across brain areas and throughout brain aging. It sheds light on alterations in iron homeostasis and the expression of iron-related genes in diseased tissues. Most significantly, it can distinguish between malignant and non-pathological tissue without the use of hazardous contrast chemicals.
“Our technology opens up new possibilities for understanding the role of iron in cancer, normal aging, and neurodegenerative diseases,” Filo says.
“It enables non-invasive research and diagnosis of iron homeostasis in the living human brain, offering a potential game-changer for healthcare and neuroscience.”
“The strength of our team lies in its diverse composition, which includes experts from various disciplines and specialties,” Mezer said. Dr. Shahar was in charge of the medical aspects of the study, which included meningioma patients and proteomic analyses. Dr. Rona Shahrabani was essential in performing iron protein studies, and Dr. Nevo Margalit, chairman of SZMC’s neurosurgery department, made a big contribution by participating in a considerable amount of the operations and patient recruiting,” he noted.
“In addition, SZMC radiologist Dr. Eli Ben David was instrumental in enabling the MRI scans, and Dr. Habib contributed valuable knowledge in gene expression.” “Their collective and truly interdisciplinary expertise, as well as their unwavering dedication, contributed significantly to the success of this pioneering study,” Mezer said.