CLARITY reveals a more protracted temporal course of axon swelling and disconnection than previously described following traumatic brain injury.

ABSTRACT: Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is an important consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI). At the moment of trauma, axons rarely disconnect, but undergo cytoskeletal disruption and transport interruption leading to protein accumulation within swellings. The amyloid precursor protein (APP) accumulates rapidly and the standard histological evaluation of axonal pathology relies upon its detection. APP+ swellings first appear as varicosities along intact axons, which can ultimately undergo secondary disconnection to leave a terminal "axon bulb" at the disconnected, proximal end. However, sites of disconnection are difficult to determine with certainty using standard, thin tissue sections, thus limiting the comprehensive evaluation of axon degeneration. The tissue-clearing technique, CLARITY, per

SUBMITTER: Weber MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6482960 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature