A barrier attenuation of the glia limitans superficialis in the rat medial prefrontal cortex after sciatic nerve injury
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | The glia limitans superficialis (GLS) on the rodent cortical surface consists of astrocyte bodies intermingled with their cytoplasmic processes. The reactivity of rat GLS astrocytes of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in response to sham operation and sciatic nerve compression (SNC) over different time periods was demonstrated by immunofluorescence (IF) intensities of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), glutamine synthetase (GS), and NF?Bp65. In addition, the reactivity of GLS astrocytes was associated with dynamic alteration of the extension of their cytoplasmic processes into cortical lamina-I of post-operation day 1 (POD1), POD3, POD7, POD14, and POD21 (Bretová et al. 2022). We present here the results of immunofluorescence detection of connexin-43 (Cx43), and aquaporin-4 (AQP4) monitored in the rat GLS astrocytes of a parallel set of experimental groups. In addition, we investigated the penetration of fluorescent dextran tracers of 3 and 10kDa through the GLS after intravenous or intrathecal application. Integrated intensities of doted-like Cx43-IF were significantly increased in the GLS of both sham- and SNC-operated rats over all periods of survival, while intensities of AQP4-IF were significantly decreased from POD3 to POD14 and maintained similar levels on POD21 with the GLS of naive rats. Fluoro-Ruby (dextran 10kDa) particles were densely dispersed in the subpial space with their fine penetration below the GLS after intrathecal application following SNC. In contrast, limited particles were observed in the perivascular space of blood capillaries in the cortical parenchyma after intravenous administration of Fluoro-Ruby (10kDa). However, intravenous application of Fluoro-Ruby (3kDa) revealed that GLS astrocytes of mPFC were heavily loaded with the particles in naive rats and rats on POD1 and POD21 of both sham and SNC operations, while significantly fewer particles were captured by GLS astrocytes on POD7. These results suggest that damaged peripheral tissues (following both sham operation and peripheral nerve lesions) may induce significant molecular changes of reactive GLS astrocytes associated with alteration of the barrier on the surface of mPFC. |
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