Presence of binucleate neurons in the spinal cord of young and senile rats.
The presence of binucleate cells constitutes a normal feature of some animal tissues but is rare in the normal brain and has not been documented in the spinal cord. We assessed different segments of the rat spinal cord in order to determine the frequency and distribution of binucleate neurons in this structure as well as the impact of aging on this neuronal population. Young (4-5 months) and senile (32 months) female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Sections from cervical, thoracic and lumbar segments were histochemically and immunohistochemically (NeuN) stained and the frequency and distribution of binucleate neurons was determined by manual counting. The frequency of binucleate neurons in all of the analysed segments was comparable between young and senile animals. Binucleate neurons were particularly frequent in the C5 and C6 segments. The overall distribution of binucleate neurons in the different laminae assessed was, Lm-III = 19%; Lm-VI = 17%; Lm-VII = 39%; LmVIII = 8%; Lm-IX = 11%; Lm-X = 6%, and was comparable between young and senile rats. We conclude that binucleate neurons occur as a normal feature of the rat spinal cord and that their frequency and distribution does not change with aging.
Portiansky
Enrique Leo
EL
Institute of Pathology, School of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata (UNLP), Calle 60 y 118, CC 296, La Plata, Argentina. elporti@fcv.unlp.edu.ar
Barbeito
Claudio Gustavo
CG
Flamini
Mirta Alicia
MA
Gimeno
Eduardo Juan
EJ
Goya
Rodolfo Gustavo
RG
D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology*