title: Loss of NeuN immunoreactivity in rat spinal cord neurons during aging.
abstract: A morphologic study of the impact of aging on neuron marker expression was performed in different segments of the rat spinal cord. Spinal cord specimens from young (5 months), middle-aged (12 months) and senile (32 months) female rats were assessed. We found a complete loss of neuron-specific nuclear protein (NeuN) immunoreactivity in cervical, thoracic and lumbar segments of the senile animals whereas neuron-specific enolase (NSE) immunoreactivity was comparable in young and senile rats. These findings in otherwise morphologically well preserved spinal cord neurons are of interest and reveal that NeuN may not be a reliable marker to identify neurons in the spinal cord of aging rats.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, School of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata (UNLP), Calle 60 y 118, La Plata, Argentina, 1900. elporti@fcv.unlp.edu.ar
authors.forename: Enrique Leo
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Portiansky
authors.forename: Claudio Gustavo
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Barbeito
authors.forename: Eduardo Juan
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Gimeno
authors.forename: Gustavo Oscar
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Zuccolilli
authors.forename: Rodolfo Gustavo
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Goya
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase