Effect of hydrocephalus on rat brain extracellular compartment

Marc R Del Bigio and Terry L Enno

Department of Pathology, University of Manitoba, and Manitoba Institute of Child Health, Winnipeg MB, R3E 3P5, Canada

author email corresponding author email

Cerebrospinal Fluid Research 2008, 5:12doi:10.1186/1743-8454-5-12


Published:	10 July 2008

Abstract

Background

The cerebral cortex may be compressed in hydrocephalus and some experiments suggest that movement of extracellular substances through the cortex is impaired. We hypothesized that the extracellular compartment is reduced in size and that the composition of the extracellular compartment changes in rat brains with kaolin-induced hydrocephalus.

Methods

We studied neonatal (newborn) onset hydrocephalus for 1 or 3 weeks, juvenile (3 weeks) onset hydrocephalus for 3–4 weeks or 9 months, and young adult (10 weeks) onset hydrocephalus for 2 weeks, after kaolin injection. Freeze substitution electron microscopy was used to measure the size of the extracellular compartment. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry with quantitative image densitometry was used to study the extracellular matrix constituents, phosphacan, neurocan, NG2, decorin, biglycan, and laminin.

Results

The extracellular space in cortical layer 1 was reduced significantly from 16.5 to 9.6% in adult rats with 2 weeks duration hydrocephalus. Western blot and immunohistochemistry showed that neurocan increased only in the periventricular white matter following neonatal induction and 3 weeks duration hydrocephalus. The same rats showed mild decorin increases in white matter and around cortical neurons. Juvenile and adult onset hydrocephalus was associated with no significant changes.

Conclusion

We conclude that compositional changes in the extracellular compartment are negligible in cerebral cortex of hydrocephalic rats at various ages. Therefore, the functional change related to extracellular fluid flow should be reversible.