Pathological change of neuroglia and serum GFAP level after mild traumatic brain injury in rats
Lin Jing
Zhang Wei
Zheng Xiaoqiang
Cheng Hongwei
Gao Ruiting
Song Chaoli
Abstract：Objective To study the pathological change and serum biomarker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) . Methods Thirty-two adult rats were collected and divided randomly and equally into sham operation group, 1 d after TBI, 3 d after TBI, 7 d after TBI groups. The mild closed TBI model was established in rats of TBI groups with hydraulic impact equipment. The scalp was cut and drill was performed in sham operation group. The expression of GFAP which is the specific biomaker of astrocytes was detected in brain tissues by immunohistochemistry, the acute injury of neurons in brain tissues was detected by Fluoro-Jade B (FJ-B) immunofluorescence. The serum GFAP level of the caudal vein was detected by ELISA. The changes of the neurons and astrocyte in the brain tissues after TBI were observed and the relationship between serum GFAP level and severity of neuron injury were analyzed. Results Compared with sham operation group, the number of astrocytes with positive GFAP near to the parietal cortex was decreased 1, 3 and 7 d after TBI (P ＜ 0.05) . Hyperplasia and hypertrophy of astrocytes were observed 1, 3 and 7 d after TBI.The FJ-B positive neurons were slightly increased 1 d after TBI and notably increased 3 and 7 d after TBI (P ＜ 0.05) . The serum GFAP level 1 d after TBI was higher than the sham operation group (P ＜ 0.05) and went back to normal levels 3 and 7 d after TBI. The serum GFAP level 1 d after TBI was positively correlated with the numbers of injured neurons in the cortex 7 d after TBI (r = 0.8095, P ＜0.05) . Conclusions Astrocyte loss with reactive astrogliosis occurs and the serum biomarker GFAP increases in acute stage after mild TBI, whereas the injury of neurons occurs in subacute stage after mild TBI. The serum GFAP level can forecast the injury degree of central neurons.
Keywords：craniocerebral traumamildastrocyteglial fibrillary acidic proteinneuronal injuryrats
Publication Date：2018-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 184-187 )