White-matter abnormalities and cognitive dysfunction are linked to astrocyte activation in sickle mice.

ABSTRACT: White-matter injury in sickle-cell disease (SCD) includes silent cerebral infarction diagnosed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a complication associated with cognitive dysfunction in children with SCD. The link between white-matter injury and cognitive dysfunction has not been fully elucidated. The goal of this study was to define whether cerebrovascular lesions and cognitive function in SCD are linked to neuroaxonal damage and astrocyte activation in humanized Townes' SCD mice homozygous for human sickle hemoglobin S (SS) and control mice homozygous for human normal hemoglobin A (AA). Mice underwent MRI with DTI and cognitive testing, and histology sections from their brains were stained to assess microstructural tissue damage, neuroaxonal damage, and astrocyte activation. Fractional a

SUBMITTER: Hazra R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10194090 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature