Lighting up necrotic neurons from traumatic brain injury with magnetic quantum dots to decode the cellular origin of MRI
- 1Key Laboratory of Optic-electric Sensing and Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, MOE, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Zhengzhou Road 53, Qingdao 266042, China.
- 2School of Life Sciences, Biomedical Basic Research Center of Jiangsu, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu, China.
- 3Suzhou XinYing biomedical Company Limited, Suzhou 215123, China.
Abstract
The diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains heavily constrained by the limitations of conventional imaging techniques in visualizing the pathological events that determine the disease progression and outcome. To address this clinical challenge, we report a manganese-doped near-infrared quantum dot (QD) to intrinsically integrate the highly sensitive optical imaging with clinical compatible magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Taking the advantages of optical imaging powered by whole-brain clearing and cellular resolution three-dimensional (3D) panoptic imaging, in combination with the systematic in vitro cell studies on different types of cells involved in TBI, we disclosed the interpretable pathology reflected by TBI imaging through the highly sensitive fluorescence of magnetic QDs, i.e., after systemic administration, the nanoprobes were extravasated through the compromised blood-brain barrier and then selectively phagocytosed by activated microglia, which subsequently migrated into the regions rich in dead neurons and neuronal debris. This microglia-mediated tropism decodes the signal origin of MRI enhanced by the nanometer-sized contrast agent, thereby transforming the MRI from an anatomical tool into a pathological reporter. A biocompatible Fe3O4 nanoparticle of similar size was also compared with the magnetic QD mentioned above for validating the translational merits of nanoparticles in MRI diagnosis of TBI.
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BibTeX
@article{jiao2026lighting,
title = {{Lighting up necrotic neurons from traumatic brain injury with magnetic quantum dots to decode the cellular origin of MRI}},
author = {Mingxia Jiao and Xin Zhao and Jingyun Wang and Wanru Tian and Yao Li and Xuan Cheng and Kun Zhang and Xiliang Luo and Peisen Zhang and Mingyuan Gao},
journal = {Science Advances},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aej0686},
url = {https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aej0686},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Lighting up necrotic neurons from traumatic brain injury with magnetic quantum dots to decode the cellular origin of MRI
AU - Mingxia Jiao
AU - Xin Zhao
AU - Jingyun Wang
AU - Wanru Tian
AU - Yao Li
AU - Xuan Cheng
AU - Kun Zhang
AU - Xiliang Luo
AU - Peisen Zhang
AU - Mingyuan Gao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Science Advances
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aej0686
UR - https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aej0686
AB - The diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains heavily constrained by the limitations of conventional imaging techniques in visualizing the pathological events that determine the disease progression and outcome. To address this clinical challenge, we report a manganese-doped near-infrared quantum dot (QD) to intrinsically integrate the highly sensitive optical imaging with clinical compatible magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Taking the advantages of optical imaging powered by whole-brain clearing and cellular resolution three-dimensional (3D) panoptic imaging, in combination with the systematic in vitro cell studies on different types of cells involved in TBI, we disclosed the interpretable pathology reflected by TBI imaging through the highly sensitive fluorescence of magnetic QDs, i.e., after systemic administration, the nanoprobes were extravasated through the compromised blood-brain barrier and then selectively phagocytosed by activated microglia, which subsequently migrated into the regions rich in dead neurons and neuronal debris. This microglia-mediated tropism decodes the signal origin of MRI enhanced by the nanometer-sized contrast agent, thereby transforming the MRI from an anatomical tool into a pathological reporter. A biocompatible Fe3O4 nanoparticle of similar size was also compared with the magnetic QD mentioned above for validating the translational merits of nanoparticles in MRI diagnosis of TBI.
SN - 2375-2548
ER -