engleski

TDP-43 expression in the spinal cord and motor ability six months after repetitive traumatic brain injury in mice

Introduction: Repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a risk factor for the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in which TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) disregulation has been identified. The aim of this research was to investigate the long term effects of rmTBI on the expression of TDP-43 in the spinal cord as well as on the motor performance in mice. Materials and methods: Repetitive mTBI was induced by the weight drop method (Kane et al. 2012), twice a day during 5 consecutive days in C57BL/6 mice. Sham injured animals were subjected to the same procedures without receiving any impact. Mice were exposed to the accelerating rotarod test for three days before the first injury, and their postinjury motor function was tested every 30 days, up to 6 months after the last injury when they were sacrificied. Their spinal cords were dissected and prepared for the Western blot analyses. Some animals were perfused transcardially and their spinal cords were prepared for the immunofluorescent stainings. Results: In the spinal cords of injured mice increased cytoplasmatic expression of TDP-43 was detected. It was more pronounced in neurons of injured mice in comparison with animals of the control group. The motor function of injured mice was not not impaired at any time point investigated. Conclusions: Our results suggest that repetitive mTBI in mice induces TDP-43 dysregulation in the spinal cord at 6 months after the last brain trauma but has no influence on the motor performance in our experimental conditions. This research was fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under the project IP-2016-06-4602 to Ž.G.

repetitive mild traumatic brain injury, TDP-43, motor performance, mice

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