Summary
A needle wound was made in the adult rat cerebral cortex. Responses of neurons and oligodendrocytes at the site of injury were followed over a period of 450 days and correlations made between morphological and enzyme cytochemical changes to clarify some phenomena previously unresolved.
Evidence from acid phosphatase activity in degenerating neurons showed no increase in the number of cytochemically stained lysosomal profiles nor changes in the subcellular localization of the acid phosphatase reaction product. Our observations indicated that the majority of dying neurons were not digested by their own acid phosphatase ‘autodigestion’ but by the process of heterodigestion. The time-course study revealed that not all the traumatized neurons were eliminated but some persisted permanently in an attenuated ‘atrophic’ state. The atrophic neurons were small in size with low cytoplasmic-nuclear ratios and exhibited low levels of glucose-6-phosphatase and cytochrome oxidase activities. The acid phosphatase activity was slightly increased as evidenced by cytochemically stained hypertrophic Golgi cisternae and a slight increase in the number of lysosomes. The low level of enzyme activities, concerned with carbohydrate metabolism reflected the low metabolic activity in atrophic neurons whilst an increase in Golgi-lysosomal enzyme activity suggested some anabolic process necessary for their survival.
Oligodendrocytes displayed only minor changes in morphology, and their glucose-6-phosphatase and cytochrome oxidase activities were normal, suggesting that these cells have little or no involvement in the repair of a cerebral wound. The absence of significant changes in lysosomal acid phosphatase activity indicated a minimal role, if any, of oligodendrocytes in the process of phagocytosis.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-ali, S. Y. A. &Robinson, N. (1978a) Response of cortical astrocytes to a needle wound seen ultrastructurally.J. Anat. 126, 420.
Al-ali, S. Y. A. &Robinson, N. (1978b) Histochemical changes in rat neocortex after intracortical needle wound.J. Anat. 127, 648.
Al-ali, S. Y. A. &Robinson, N. (1979a) Ultrastructural demonstration of cytochrome oxidase via cytochromec in cerebral cortex.J. Histochem. Cytochem. 27, 1261–66.
Al-ali, S. Y. A. &Robinson, N. (1979a) Ultrastructural demonstration of dehydrogenases in rat cerebral cortex.Histochemistry 61, 307–18.
Al-ali, S. Y. A. &Robinson, N. (1981) Ultrastructural demonstration of glucose 6-phosphatase in cerebral cortex.Histochemistry 72, 107–11.
Al-ali, S. Y. A., &Robinson, N. (1982a) Ultrastructural study of enzymes in reactive astrocytes: clarification of astrocytic activity.Histochem. J. 14, 311–21.
Al-ali, S. Y. A. &Robinson, N. (1982b) Brain phagocytes: source of high acid phosphatase activity.Am. J. Path. 107, 51–8.
Al-ali, S. Y. A. &Robinson, N. (1982) The sites of cellular digestion following a stab wound of the cerebral cortex in rats.J. Anat. 136, 619–20.
Aldskogius, H., &Arvidsson, J. (1978) Nerve cell degeneration and death in the trigeminal ganglion of rat following peripheral nerve transection.J. Neurocytol. 7, 229–50.
Barron, K. D. &Dentinger, M. P. (1979) Cytologic observation on axotomized feline Betz cell. 1. Quantitative electron microscopic finding.J. Neuropath. exp. Neurol. 38, 128–51.
Bernstein, J. J. (1967) The regenerative capacity of the telencephalon of the goldfish and rat.Expl Neurol. 17, 44–56.
Bernstein, J. J., Wells, M. R. &Bernstein, M. E. (1978) Effect of puromycin treatment on the regeneration of hemisected and transected rat spinal cord.J. Neurocytol. 7, 215–28.
Brunk, U. &Ericsson, J. (1972) Electron microscopical studies on rat brain neurons. Localization of acid phosphatase and mode of formation of lipofuscin bodies.J. Ultrastruct. Res. 38, 1–15.
Decker, R. (1978) Retrograde responses of developing lateral motor column neurons.J. comp. Neurol. 180, 635–60.
Egan, D. A., Flumerfelt, B. A. &Gwyn, D. G., (1977) A light and electron microscopic study of axon reaction in the red nucleus of the rat following cervical and thoracic lesion.Neuropath. Appl. Neurobiol. 3, 423–39.
Glover, R. A. (1982) Chronological changes in acid phosphatase activity within neurons and perineuronal satellite cells of the inferior vagal ganglion of the cat induced by vagotomy.J. Anat. 134, 215–25.
Grafstein, B. (1975) The nerve cell body response to axotomy.Expl Neurol. 48, 32–51.
Herndon, R. M., Price, D. L. &Weiner, L. P. (1977) Regeneration of oligodendroglia during recovery from demyelinating disease.Science N.Y. 195, 693–94.
Imamoto, K. &Leblond, C. P. (1977) Presence of labeled monocytes, macrophages and microglia in a stab wound of the brain following an injection of bone marrow cells labeled with3H-Uridine into rats.J. comp. Neurol. 174, 255–80.
Mckeever, P. &Balentine, J. D. (1973) An ultrastructural study of acid phosphatase activity of rat ventral motor horn cells with observations on the effects of hyperbaric oxygen.Lab. Invest. 29, 633–41.
Nadler, J. V., Perry, B. W., Gentry, C. &Cotman, C. W. (1980) Degeneration of hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cells induced by intraventricular kainic acid.J. comp. Neurol. 192, 333–59.
Paljarvi, L., Garcia, J. H. &Kalimo, H. (1979) The efficiency of aldehyde fixation for electron microscopy: stabilization of rat brain tissue to withstand osmotic stress.Histochem. J. 11, 267–76.
Penfield, W. &Rio-hortega, D. (1932)Cytology and Cellular Pathology of Nervous System, Vol. 2. pp. 421–534. New York: Hoeber
Persson, L. (1976) Cellular reaction to small cerebral stab wound in rat frontal lobe. An ultrastructural study.Virchows Arch. B. Cell Path. 22, 21–37.
Peters, A., Palay, S. &Webster, H. (1976)The Fine Structure of the Nervous System. The Neurons and Supporting Cells, pp. 248–54. Philadelphia, London, Toronto: Saunders.
Raisman, G., Zimmer, J. Barber, P. C., Lindsay, R. M. & Lawrence, J. M. (1980) Transplantation of tissue into the central nervous system. InReport 1980., National Institute for Medical Research. Lab. Neurobiol. 143–4.
Schultz, R. L. &Willey, T. J. (1976) Ultrastructure of the sheath around chronically implanted electrodes in brain.J. Neurocytol. 5, 621–24.
Svendgaard, N. A., Bjorklund, A. &Stevenvi, U. (1976) Regeneration, of central cholinergic neurons in the adult brain.Bram Res. 102, 1–22.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Al-Ali, S.Y.A., Robinson, N. Neuronal and oligodendrocytic response to cortical injury: Ultrastructural and cytochemical changes. Histochem J 16, 165–178 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01003547
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01003547