Changes in spinal cord stiffness in the course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.

Changes in spinal cord stiffness in the course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2019 Dec 06;:108221 Authors: Pyka-Fościak G, Zemła J, Lis GJ, Litwin JA, Lekka M Abstract Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a commonly used mouse model of multiple sclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by demyelination leading to brain and spinal cord malfunctions. We postulate that not only biological but also biomechanical properties play an important role in CNS function impairments. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was applied to investigate mechanical properties of spinal cords collected from EAE mice in preonset, onset, peak, and chronic disease phases. Biomechanical changes were compared with histopathological alterations observed in the successive phases. The deformability of gray matter did not change, while rigidity of white matter increased during the onset phase, remained at the same level in the peak phase and decreased in the chronic phase. Inflammatory infiltration and laminin content accompanied the tissue rigidity increase, whereas demyelination and axonal damage showed an opposite effect. The increase in white matter rigidity can be regarded as an early signature of EAE. PMID: 31816310 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Arch Biochem Biophys Source Type: research