1. Characterization of juvenile and young adult mice following induction of hydrocephalus with kaolin.
- Author
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Lopes Lda S, Slobodian I, and Del Bigio MR
- Subjects
- Aging physiology, Animals, Animals, Newborn, Antidiarrheals toxicity, Astrocytes drug effects, Astrocytes pathology, Body Weight physiology, Brain growth & development, Cerebral Cortex drug effects, Cerebral Cortex pathology, Corpus Callosum drug effects, Corpus Callosum pathology, Disease Models, Animal, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein metabolism, Gliosis chemically induced, Gliosis pathology, Gliosis physiopathology, Hydrocephalus physiopathology, Injections, Intraventricular, Lateral Ventricles drug effects, Lateral Ventricles pathology, Lateral Ventricles physiopathology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mice, Brain drug effects, Brain pathology, Hydrocephalus chemically induced, Hydrocephalus pathology, Kaolin toxicity
- Abstract
Hydrocephalus is a common neurological problem in humans, usually caused by an impairment of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow or absorption. A reliable induced model of chronic hydrocephalus in mice would be useful to test hypotheses using genetic mutants. Our goal was to characterize behavioral and histological changes in juvenile and young adult mice with kaolin (aluminum silicate)-induced hydrocephalus. Seven-day old and 7-8 week old mice received injection of kaolin into the cisterna magna. Behavior was assessed repeatedly. Seven or 14 days following kaolin, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was used to assess ventricle size. In hydrocephalic mice, body weight was significantly lower than in age-matched saline-injected sham controls and the gait and posture score were impaired. Juvenile mice developed severe ventriculomegaly and had reduced corpus callosum thickness with gross white matter destruction by 14 days. Reactive astroglial change in white matter and cortex and reduced cellular proliferation in the subependymal zone were also apparent. Young adult mice developed only moderate ventricular enlargement without overt white matter destruction, although there was corpus callosum atrophy and mild astroglial reaction in white matter. Glial fibrillary acidic protein content was significantly higher in juvenile and young adult hydrocephalic mice at 7 and 14 days, but myelin basic protein content was not significantly altered. In conclusion, hydrocephalus induced by percutaneous injection of kaolin in juvenile and young adult mice is feasible. The associated periventricular alterations are essentially the same as those reported in rats of comparable ages. more...
- Published
- 2009
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