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Age-Related Changes in Microglia of the Rat Spinal Cord

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate age-related changes in microglial cells in various regions of the cervical spinal cord in young (4 months) and aging (18 months) rats using immunohistochemical markers. Antibodies to the calcium-binding protein Iba-1 were used to identify microglial cells, and those to the neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN)—to assess the age-related dynamics in the number of spinal cord neurons. Regional differences were revealed in the reaction of microgliocytes during aging. Reactive changes in microgliocytes of aging rats were more pronounced in the white rather than the gray matter of the spinal cord, probably due to active processes of de- and remyelination of spinal cord nerve fibers, as observed during late ontogeny. The microglia of the dorsal and ventral funiculi underwent maximum changes. It is these pathways that are known to provide the perception of sensory information from external stimuli, the assessment of its type and intensity, as well as the resultant motor activity. The previously undescribed aggregates of activated microgliocytes were identified in the region of the dorsal and ventral funiculi, presumably involved in demyelination. Our results argue in favor of the involvement of microglia in age-related sensory impairments.

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Funding

This work was implemented within the state assignment to the Institute of Experimental Medicine.

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  1. Institute of Experimental Medicine, St. Petersburg, Russia

    E. A. Kolos & D. E. Korzhevskii

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  1. E. A. Kolos
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  2. D. E. Korzhevskii
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E.A.K. and D.E.K. equally contributed to the development experimental design, data collection and analysis, as well as writing a manuscript.

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Correspondence to E. A. Kolos.

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The authors declare that they have neither evident nor potential conflict of interest related to the publication of this article.

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Translated by A. Polyanovsky

Russian Text © The Author(s), 2022, published in Rossiiskii Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal imeni I.M. Sechenova, 2022, Vol. 108, No. 7, pp. 890–902https://doi.org/10.31857/S0869813922070044.

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Kolos, E.A., Korzhevskii, D.E. Age-Related Changes in Microglia of the Rat Spinal Cord. J Evol Biochem Phys 58, 1142–1151 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0022093022040172

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