title: Morphometric analysis of NADPH diaphorase reactive neurons in a rat model of focal excitotoxic striatal injury.
abstract: Excitotoxicity is the major component in neuropathological conditions, related to harmful action of imbalanced concentrations of glutamate and its agonists in the nervous tissue, ultimately resulting in cell death. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of an acute striatal lesion induced by a focal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) microinjection on the morphometry of NADPH diaphorase-reactive neurons (NADPH-d+), a subset of cells which release nitric oxide (NO) in the brain and are known by its resistance in pathological conditions. Two hundred and forty NADPH-d neurons from NMDA-lesioned striatum and contralateral counterpart were tridimensionally reconstructed at 1, 3 and 7 post-lesion days (PLDs). Cell body and dendritic field areas, length of dendrites by order and fractal dimension were analyzed. There were no significant morphometric differences when NADPH-d+neurons from lesioned and control striatal regions were compared among PLDs evaluated. Conversely, a conspicuous pallor in striatal neuropil reactivity was evidenced, especially in latter survival time. In addition, we observed a noticeable inflammatory response induced by NMDA. Our results suggest that NADPH-d+neurons were spared from deleterious effects of acute NMDA excitotoxic damage in the striatum, reinforcing the notion that this cell group is selectively resistant to injury in the nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Health and Society, Faculty of Health Sciences, State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), Mossoró, RN, Brazil.|Laboratory of Experimental Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marco Aurelio M
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Joanilson S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Guimaraes
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Behavioral and Evolutionary Neurobiology, Department of Biosciences, Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), Itabaiana, SE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jose Ronaldo
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Health and Society, Faculty of Health Sciences, State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), Mossoró, RN, Brazil.|Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Research in Health, Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), Macaíba, RN, Brazil.|Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience, Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), Macaíba, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hougelle
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simplício
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Walace
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gomes-Leal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000139:chemically induced; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000633:toxicity*; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase
keywords: Excitotoxicity; NADPH diaphorase; interneurons; rat; striatum