Fig. 1: FUS-MB treatment opens the BBB within the CCM microenvironment.
a, Confocal image of a CCM (in the absence of FUS) stained with CD31 for endothelial cells. Image depicts the grossly enlarged CCM core (yellow arrow) and moderately dilated perilesional vasculature (white arrows). b, Top row: baseline, high-resolution T2-weighted spin echo images used for selecting CCMs for FUS targeting. Arrowheads indicate selected CCMs. Middle row: T1-weighted spin echo images acquired following gadolinium contrast agent injection but immediately before FUS-MB application. Circles indicate targeted CCMs and insets display magnified views of the targeted CCMs. Bottom row: T1-weighted spin echo images acquired following gadolinium contrast agent injection and FUS application. Columns indicate PNPs used for sonication. T1 contrast enhancement is visible following FUS-MB treatment and localized to perilesional boundaries of the sonicated CCM. c, Line graph of T1 contrast enhancement as the fold change in greyscale intensity of sonicated CCMs in the post image over the pre image (as seen in a). Slope of linear regression is significantly different (P < 0.0001) from 0 by F-test.
