Axon–glial relations during regeneration of axons in the adult rat anterior medullary velum

The anterior medullary velum (AMV) of adult Wistar rats was lesioned in the midsagittal plane, transecting all decussating axons including those of the central projection of the IVth nerve. At selected times up to 200 days after transection, the degenerative and regenerative responses of axons and glia were analyzed using transmission and scanning electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. In particular, both the capacity of oligodendrocytes to remyelinate regenerated fibers and the stability of the CNS/PNS junctional zone of the IVth nerve rootlet were documented. Transected central AMV axons exhibited four patterns of fiber regeneration in which fibers grew: rostrocaudally in the reactive paralesion neuropil (Group 1); randomly within the AMV (Group 2); into the ipsilateral IVth nerve rootlet, after turning at the lesion edge and growing recurrently through the old degenerated contralateral central trochlear nerve trajectory (Group 3); and ectopically through paralesion tears in the ependyma onto the surface of the IVth ventricle (Group 4). Group 1–3 axons regenerated unperturbed through degenerating central myelin, reactive astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, and large accumulations of hematogenous macrophages. Only Group 3 axons survived long term in significant numbers, and all became myelinated by oligodendrocytes, ultimately establishing thin sheaths with relatively normal nodal gaps and intersegmental myelin sheath lenghts. Schwann cells at the CNS/PNS junction of the IVth nerve rootlet did not invade the CNS, but astrocyte processes grew across the junction into the PNS portion of the IVth nerve. The basal lamina of the junctional glia limitans remained stable throughout the experimental period.     

Down-regulation of vesicular glutamate transporters precedes cell loss and pathology in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized pathologically by plaques, tangles, and cell and synapse loss. As glutamate is the principle excitatory neurotransmitter of the CNS, the glutamatergic system may play an important role in AD. An essential step in glutamate neurotransmission is the concentration of glutamate into synaptic vesicles before release from the presynaptic terminal. Recently a group of proteins responsible for uptake has been identified - the vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs). The generation of antibodies has facilitated the study of glutamatergic neurones. Here, we used antibodies to the VGLUTs together with immunohistochemistry and western blotting to investigate the status of glutamatergic neurones in temporal, parietal and occipital cortices of patients with AD; these regions were chosen to represent severely, moderately and mildly affected regions at the end stage of the disease. There was no change in expression of the synaptic markers in relation to total protein in the temporal cortex, but a significant reduction in synaptophysin and VGLUT1 was found in both the parietal and occipital cortices. These changes were found to relate to the number of tangles in the temporal cortex. There were no correlations with either mental test score or behaviour syndromes, with the exception of depression.