Multiple Particle Tracking Detects Changes in Brain Extracellular Matrix and Predicts Neurodevelopmental Age.

ABSTRACT: Brain extracellular matrix (ECM) structure mediates many aspects of neural development and function. Probing structural changes in brain ECM could thus provide insights into mechanisms of neurodevelopment, the loss of neural function in response to injury, and the detrimental effects of pathological aging and neurological disease. We demonstrate the ability to probe changes in brain ECM microstructure using multiple particle tracking (MPT). We performed MPT of colloidally stable polystyrene nanoparticles in organotypic rat brain slices collected from rats aged 14-70 days old. Our analysis revealed an inverse relationship between nanoparticle diffusive ability in the brain extracellular space and age. Additionally, the distribution of effective ECM pore sizes in the cortex shifted to smalle

SUBMITTER: McKenna M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8281364 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature