Abstract
Organotypic tissue cultures, composed of structurally and functionally coupled explants of mouse spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia, and striated muscle, have been used to create a model of the distal (dying-back) axonopathy found in animals and humans with aliphatic hexacarbon neuropathy. Mature explants were treated with 50-650 μg/ml of the following hexacarbons dissolved in nutrient fluid: n-hexane, 2-hexanol, 2,5-hexancdiol, methyl n-butyl ketone, 5-hydroxy-2-hexanone, 2,5-hexanedione (all neurotoxic), or 2,4-hexanedione (a non-neurotoxic diketone). High concentrations (400-650 μg/ml) induced pancytotoxic damage and necrosis of tissue within days, while the lower doses (50-100 μg/ml) induced no pathological changes over a period of several weeks. Continuous exposure of explants to 245-325 μg/ml (2.8 mW) of the neurotoxic hexacarbons caused specific pathological changes to develop in distal nerve fibers after three to six weeks. Initial changes seen in distal, nonterminal regions of myelinated fibers included: nodal elongation, axonal swellings on proximal-side paranodes, and paranodal myelin retraction. Prolonged treatment was associated with Wallerian-like degeneration of distal nerve fibers. Denuded paranodal swellings in more proximal regions of affected myelinated fibers adopted a more-normal size and underwent remyelination; this occurred during and after the course of treatment. Remyelination by lateral extension from adjacent Schwann cells was documented in living and fixed tissue. The observations confirm the spatial-temporal evolution of hexacarbon distal axonopathy previously suggested from comparable studies in vivo.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 153-165 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology |
Volume | 42 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1983 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Axons
- Hexanes, toxicity
- Nerve degeneration, retrograde
- Neuropathy
- Tissue culture
- Wallerian degeneration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience