Glial scars are permeable to the neurotoxic environment of chronic stroke infarcts.

Glial scars are permeable to the neurotoxic environment of chronic stroke infarcts. Neurobiol Dis. 2018 Jan 10;: Authors: Zbesko JC, Nguyen TV, Yang T, Frye JB, Hussain O, Hayes M, Chung A, Anthony Day W, Stepanovic K, Krumberger M, Mona J, Longo FM, Doyle KP Abstract Following stroke, the damaged tissue undergoes liquefactive necrosis, a stage of infarct resolution that lasts for months, although the exact length of time is currently unknown. One method of repair involves reactive astrocytes and microglia forming a glial scar to compartmentalize the area of liquefactive necrosis from the rest of the brain. The formation of the glial scar is a critical component of the healing response to stroke, as well as other central nervous system (CNS) injuries. The goal of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of the extracellular fluid present in areas of liquefactive necrosis and determine how effectively it is segregated from the remainder of the brain. To accomplish this goal, we used a mouse model of stroke in conjunction with an extracellular fluid toxicity assay, fluorescent and electron microscopy, immunostaining, tracer injections into the infarct, and multiplex immunoassays. We confirmed that the extracellular fluid present in areas of liquefactive necrosis following stroke is toxic to primary cortical and hippocampal neurons for at least 7 weeks following stroke, and discovered that although glial scars are robust physical and e...
Source: Neurobiology of Disease - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Neurobiol Dis Source Type: research