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Acute and Chronic Tactile Sensory Testing after Spinal Cord Injury in Rats
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The microglial activation profile and associated factors after experimental spinal cord injury in rats

Yuan Zhou1, Ning Li2, Lin Zhu3

  • 1Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, Jinling School of Clinical Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, China, huilin_cheng@yahoo.com.

Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
|October 3, 2018
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Microglia activation peaks at 7 days post-spinal cord injury (SCI), correlating with increased iron and glutamate. This suggests a role for microglia in SCI pathophysiology and potential therapeutic targets.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Immunology
  • Pathophysiology

Background:

  • Spinal cord injury (SCI) significantly impacts patient quality of life, often affecting younger individuals.
  • The complex pathophysiology of SCI involves neuroinflammation mediated by microglia.
  • Understanding microglial activation profiles and influencing factors in SCI models is crucial but not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the time-course of microglial activation after SCI.
  • To investigate the relationship between microglial activation and key factors like inflammation, myelination, iron, glutamate, ATP, and potassium.
  • To elucidate the role of microglia in SCI pathogenesis.

Main Methods:

  • A rat compressive spinal cord injury (SCI) model was utilized.
  • Microglial activation, inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α), myelination, iron, glutamate, ATP, and potassium levels were assessed.
  • A time-course analysis was performed over 3 weeks post-injury.

Main Results:

  • Microglial activation peaked at 7 days post-SCI and declined over 3 weeks.
  • Myelination and oligodendroglia showed an inverse trend to microglial activation.
  • Elevated iron and glutamate levels coincided with peak microglial activation, while ATP and potassium levels were lowest.

Conclusions:

  • The study establishes a detailed microglial activation profile following experimental SCI.
  • Findings suggest microglia play a key role in SCI, partly via inflammatory responses.
  • Increased iron and glutamate, potentially from damaged oligodendroglia, may drive microglial activation post-SCI.
Keywords:
glutamateironmicrogliaoligodendrogliaspinal cord injury

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