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Published on: January 21, 2022
Loss of NeuN immunoreactivity in rat spinal cord neurons during aging
Enrique Leo Portiansky1, Claudio Gustavo Barbeito, Eduardo Juan Gimeno
1Institute of Pathology, School of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata (UNLP), Calle 60 y 118, La Plata, Argentina, 1900. elporti@fcv.unlp.edu.ar
Abstract:
A morphologic study of the impact of aging on neuron marker expression was performed in different segments of the rat spinal cord. Spinal cord specimens from young (5 months), middle-aged (12 months) and senile (32 months) female rats were assessed. We found a complete loss of neuron-specific nuclear protein (NeuN) immunoreactivity in cervical, thoracic and lumbar segments of the senile animals whereas neuron-specific enolase (NSE) immunoreactivity was comparable in young and senile rats. These findings in otherwise morphologically well preserved spinal cord neurons are of interest and reveal that NeuN may not be a reliable marker to identify neurons in the spinal cord of aging rats.
