Acute and chronic demyelinated CNS lesions exhibit opposite elastic properties.
Mateusz M UrbanskiMatthew B BrendelCarmen V Melendez-VasquezPublished in: Scientific reports (2019)
Increased deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) is a known inhibitor of axonal regrowth and remyelination. Recent in vitro studies have demonstrated that oligodendrocyte differentiation is impacted by the physical properties of the ECM. However, characterization of the mechanical properties of the healthy and injured CNS myelin is challenging, and has largely relied on non-invasive, low-resolution methods. To address this, we have employed atomic force microscopy to perform micro-indentation measurements of demyelinated tissue at cellular scale. Analysis of mouse and human demyelinated brains indicate that acute demyelination results in decreased tissue stiffness that recovers with remyelination; while chronic demyelination is characterized by increased tissue stiffness, which correlates with augmented ECM deposition. Thus, changes in the mechanical properties of the acutely (softer) or chronically (stiffer) demyelinated brain might contribute to differences in their regenerative capacity. Our findings are relevant to the optimization of cell-based therapies aimed at promoting CNS regeneration and remyelination.
Keyphrases
- extracellular matrix
- atomic force microscopy
- stem cells
- liver failure
- drug induced
- blood brain barrier
- single molecule
- cell therapy
- respiratory failure
- endothelial cells
- high speed
- white matter
- spinal cord injury
- single cell
- mental health
- mesenchymal stem cells
- physical activity
- multiple sclerosis
- hepatitis b virus
- intensive care unit
- extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
- tissue engineering
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- optic nerve
- optical coherence tomography
- case control