White-matter abnormalities and cognitive dysfunction are linked to astrocyte activation in sickle mice

White-matter injury in sickle-cell disease (SCD) includes silent cerebral infarction diagnosed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a complication associated with cognitive dysfunction in children with SCD. The link between white-matter injury and cognitive dysfunction has not been fully elucidated. The goal of this study was to define whether cerebrovascular lesions and cognitive function in SCD are linked to neuroaxonal damage and astrocyte activation in humanized Townes' SCD mice homozygous for human sickle hemoglobin S (SS) and control mice homozygous for human normal hemoglobin A (AA). Mice underwent MRI with DTI and cognitive testing, and histology sections from their brains were stained to assess microstructural tissue damage, neuroaxonal damage, and astrocyte activation. Fractional anisotropy, showing microstructural cerebrovascular abnormalities identified by DTI in the white matter, was significantly associated with neuronal demyelination in the SS mouse brain. SS mice had reduced learning and memory function with a significantly lower discrimination index compared with AA control mice in the novel object recognition tests. Neuroaxonal damage in the SS mice was synchronously correlated with impaired neurocognitive function and activation of astrocytes. The interplay between astrocyte function and neurons may modulate cognitive performance in SCD.