Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jan 2018
Primary Blast Causes Delayed Effects without Cell Death in Shell-encased Brain Cell Aggregates.
Previous work in this laboratory used underwater explosive exposures to isolate the effects of shock-induced principle stress without shear on rat brain aggregate cultures. The current study has utilized simulated air blast to expose aggregates in suspension and enclosed within a spherical shell, enabling the examination of a much more complex biomechanical insult. Culture medium-filled spheres were exposed to single pulse overpressures of 15-30 psi (∼6-7 msec duration) and measurements within the sphere at defined sites showed complex and spatially dependent pressure changes. ⋯ The imposition of a spherical shell between the single pulse shock wave and the target brain tissue introduces greatly increased complexity to the insult. This work shows that brain tissue can not only discriminate the nature of the pressure changes it experiences, but that a portion of its response is significantly delayed. These results have mechanistic implications for the study of primary blast-induced TBI and also highlight the importance of rigorously characterizing the actual pressure variations experienced by target tissue in primary blast studies.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jan 2018
Role of Caspase-3-mediated Apoptosis in Chronic Caspase-3-cleaved Tau Accumulation and Blood-brain Barrier Damage in the Corpus Callosum after Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be a significant risk factor for development of neurodegenerative disorders such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE), and Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. Chronic TBI is associated with several pathological features that are also characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases, including tau pathologies, caspase-3-mediated apoptosis, neuroinflammation, and microvascular alterations. The goal of this study was to evaluate changes following TBI in cleaved-caspase-3 and caspase-3-cleaved tau truncated at Asp421, and their relationships to cellular markers potentially associated with inflammation and blood-brain (BBB) barrier damage. ⋯ Increases in cleaved-caspase-3 in the corpus callosum were accompanied by accumulation of caspase-3-cleaved tau, with increasing perivascular aggregation 3 months after CCI. Immunofluorescence experiments further showed cellular co-localization of cleaved-caspase-3 with GFAP and CD68 and its adjacent localization with EBA, suggesting involvement of apoptosis and neuroinflammation in mechanisms of delayed BBB and microvascular damage that could contribute to white matter changes. This study also provides the first evidence that evolving upregulation of cleaved-caspase-3 is associated with accumulation of caspase-3-cleaved tau following experimental TBI, thus providing new insights into potential common mechanisms mediated by caspase-3 and underlying chronic TBI pathologies and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jan 2018
Increased sleep need and reduction of tuberomammillary histamine neurons after rodent traumatic brain injury.
Although sleep-wake disturbances are prevalent and well described after traumatic brain injury, their pathophysiology remains unclear, most likely because human traumatic brain injury is a highly heterogeneous entity that makes the systematic study of sleep-wake disturbances in relation to trauma-induced histological changes a challenging task. Despite increasing interest, specific and effective treatment strategies for post-traumatic sleep-wake disturbances are still missing. With the present work, therefore, we aimed at studying acute and chronic sleep-wake disturbances by electrophysiological means, and at assessing their histological correlates after closed diffuse traumatic brain injury in rats with the ultimate goal of generating a model of post-traumatic sleep-wake disturbances and associated histopathological findings that accurately represents the human condition. ⋯ As histological correlate, we found a reduced number of histamine immunoreactive cells in the tuberomammillary nucleus, potentially related to increased neuroinflammation. Monoaminergic and hypocretinergic neurotransmitter systems in the hypothalamus and rostral brainstem were not affected, however. These results suggest that our rat traumatic brain injury model reflects human post-traumatic sleep-wake disturbances and associated histopathological findings very accurately, thus providing a study platform for novel treatment strategies for affected patients.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jan 2018
Historical ArticleReflections on 35 Years of Journal of Neurotrauma.