Coupled Microglia Response in the Brainstem Following Lingual Nerve Transection in Sprague-Dawley Rats
Advisor Information
Suzanne Sollars
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
1-3-2019 12:30 PM
End Date
1-3-2019 1:45 PM
Abstract
Coupled Microglia Response in the Brainstem Following Lingual Nerve Transection in Sprague-Dawley Rats
B. D. Andersen, A. J. Riquier, S. I. Sollars
Taste buds in the anterior tongue are innervated by the gustatory chorda tympani nerve (CT). Fungiform papilla tissue surrounds each taste bud and receives innervation from the somatosensory lingual nerve (LN). The CT and LN carry different types of sensory information, yet damage to either nerve can result in alterations in both sensory systems. Sensory systems interact in the brain, but this cross communication observed in the peripheral nervous system is highly unusual. Within the brainstem nucleus of the solitary tract, both the CT and LN transmit information to adjacent, yet distinct, subnuclei. Their close anatomical apposition allows examination of central immune responses of both nerves after damage to a single nerve. The primary indicators of this central immune response, microglia cells, typically increase in number when damage to a peripheral nerve occurs. Because these nerves project to closely related subnuclei within the brain, it is possible that the microglia response is shared when only one nerve is damaged, resulting in the observed peripheral co-dependence. To examine this possibility, 15 rats received LN transection, and brains were extracted 5, 8, or 16 days later. In this ongoing study, brains will be sectioned and stained with Luxol Fast Blue (myelin) and cresyl violet (cell bodies) to differentiate subnuclei. Microglia will be visualized within subnuclei using an Iba1 antibody and quantified using Neurolucida (MBF Bioscience). This research expands the current scientific understanding on how the brain responds to peripheral nerve injury and contributes to our understanding of peripheral nervous system interaction.
Coupled Microglia Response in the Brainstem Following Lingual Nerve Transection in Sprague-Dawley Rats
Coupled Microglia Response in the Brainstem Following Lingual Nerve Transection in Sprague-Dawley Rats
B. D. Andersen, A. J. Riquier, S. I. Sollars
Taste buds in the anterior tongue are innervated by the gustatory chorda tympani nerve (CT). Fungiform papilla tissue surrounds each taste bud and receives innervation from the somatosensory lingual nerve (LN). The CT and LN carry different types of sensory information, yet damage to either nerve can result in alterations in both sensory systems. Sensory systems interact in the brain, but this cross communication observed in the peripheral nervous system is highly unusual. Within the brainstem nucleus of the solitary tract, both the CT and LN transmit information to adjacent, yet distinct, subnuclei. Their close anatomical apposition allows examination of central immune responses of both nerves after damage to a single nerve. The primary indicators of this central immune response, microglia cells, typically increase in number when damage to a peripheral nerve occurs. Because these nerves project to closely related subnuclei within the brain, it is possible that the microglia response is shared when only one nerve is damaged, resulting in the observed peripheral co-dependence. To examine this possibility, 15 rats received LN transection, and brains were extracted 5, 8, or 16 days later. In this ongoing study, brains will be sectioned and stained with Luxol Fast Blue (myelin) and cresyl violet (cell bodies) to differentiate subnuclei. Microglia will be visualized within subnuclei using an Iba1 antibody and quantified using Neurolucida (MBF Bioscience). This research expands the current scientific understanding on how the brain responds to peripheral nerve injury and contributes to our understanding of peripheral nervous system interaction.