Disorders of the Nervous System
Author: Sofia Saita | Email: sofiamsaitta@gmail.com
Sofia Saita1°, Milagros Pla1°, Diego Lopez Campos2°, Dante Daniel Gomez Cuautle1°, Maria Belen Cieri1°, Alicia Rossi1°, Alberto Javier Ramos
1° IBCN UBA-CONICET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires
2° Hospital General de Agudos Dr. Cosme Argerich
Astrocytes respond to brain injury through a general process known as reactive astrogliosis. Under circumstances that remain not fully understood, reactive astrocytes can undergo pathological remodeling that contributes to neuronal death. This remodeling involves the downregulation of homeostatic genes and the overexpression of pro-inflammatory mediators. We hypothesized that pathologically remodeled astrocytes are present in the penumbra surrounding the core of traumatic brain injury (TBI), leading to the well-known delayed neuronal death in this region. In this study, we analyzed reactive astrocytes in C57 mice subjected to a stab wound TBI model at 7 days post-lesion (7dpl) to identify phenotypic changes and assess the expression of astroglial proteins essential for homeostatic brain function. Using immunohistochemistry, Nissl staining, Sholl analysis, and image analysis focused on the core/penumbra of TBI, we found that reactive astrocytes in the penumbra, identified by GFAP expression, exhibit distinct morphological changes as shown by Sholl analysis. These altered astroglial morphologies are associated with decreased expression of glutamine synthase (GS) and increased mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Our results indicate that penumbral astrocytes display characteristics of pathologically remodeled cells, suggesting they may serve as potential targets for therapeutic interventions. Grants: PICT 2021-0760/2019-0851; UBACYT; PIP Conicet