Immune Response After Nerve Loss in the Developing and Mature Rat
Advisor Information
Suzanne Sollars
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
2-3-2018 10:45 AM
End Date
2-3-2018 12:00 PM
Abstract
We recently published a study examining the effect of somatosensory lingual nerve loss on the taste buds of the anterior tongue at different time points across development. When the lingual nerve is cut (LX), taste buds get smaller and more infrequent in young rats and this effect is greater than what is seen following LX in adulthood. One potential explanation for this discrepancy may be age-related differences in the innate immune response. Neutrophils, a type of white blood cells, are a critical component of the immune system that cause inflammation and help to clear away damaged tissue after injury. Increased neutrophil response has previously been associated with greater changes in taste buds following nerve loss in aged animals. We assessed the immune response in tongue tissue from rats that underwent LX at 10 or 65 days of age. LX at 10 days of age induced a strong immune response which remained elevated beyond 48 hours post-surgery. The neutrophil count was significantly higher than the uninjured side of the tongue, sham surgery tissue or non-surgical control tissue at 12, 24 and 48 hours post-surgery. Conversely, adult LX led to a neutrophil response which was elevated at 12 and 24 hours post-surgery, but then decreased to control levels. In total, these results suggest that the innate immune response is considerably more robust and more prolonged following injury in young animals and this may help to explain the greater morphological changes seen in this injury paradigm.
Immune Response After Nerve Loss in the Developing and Mature Rat
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
We recently published a study examining the effect of somatosensory lingual nerve loss on the taste buds of the anterior tongue at different time points across development. When the lingual nerve is cut (LX), taste buds get smaller and more infrequent in young rats and this effect is greater than what is seen following LX in adulthood. One potential explanation for this discrepancy may be age-related differences in the innate immune response. Neutrophils, a type of white blood cells, are a critical component of the immune system that cause inflammation and help to clear away damaged tissue after injury. Increased neutrophil response has previously been associated with greater changes in taste buds following nerve loss in aged animals. We assessed the immune response in tongue tissue from rats that underwent LX at 10 or 65 days of age. LX at 10 days of age induced a strong immune response which remained elevated beyond 48 hours post-surgery. The neutrophil count was significantly higher than the uninjured side of the tongue, sham surgery tissue or non-surgical control tissue at 12, 24 and 48 hours post-surgery. Conversely, adult LX led to a neutrophil response which was elevated at 12 and 24 hours post-surgery, but then decreased to control levels. In total, these results suggest that the innate immune response is considerably more robust and more prolonged following injury in young animals and this may help to explain the greater morphological changes seen in this injury paradigm.