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Early axonal changes following lesions of the dorsal columns in rats

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Summary

A graded series of changes occur around lesions to the central nervous system. In the present investigation three zones were distinguished caudal to a lesion of the dorsal columns in the rat, In Zone I near the lesion, necrosis and cellular disintegration are followed by phagocytosis, and the development of a loose connective tissue matrix. Here Schwann cells proliferate and envelope axon sprouts in a similar fashion to those in developing of regenerating peripheral nerve. Zone II includes the proximal segment of nervous tissue containing normal appearing axons in continuity with parent nerve cells. Here an initially severe edematous condition is followed by growth and proliferation of astrocytes. Axon sprouts are present in the transitional Boundary Zone the first day following a lesion. They continue to grow and are most numerous at one week. By two weeks axons have apparently disappeared from many parts of Zone I and degeneration of parent axons and retraction clubs is advanced in Zone II. The reasons for axon involution are not known but do not appear to be related to the development of a glial scar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Utah, College of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah

    B. C. Gilson & L. J. Stensaas

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  1. B. C. Gilson
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  2. L. J. Stensaas
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Acknowledgments. This work was supported by research grant NS 10864-01 from the National Institutes of Health.

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Gilson, B.C., Stensaas, L.J. Early axonal changes following lesions of the dorsal columns in rats. Cell Tissue Res. 149, 1–20 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209047

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