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Spinal cord injury leads to more neurodegeneration in the hippocampus of aged male rats compared to young rats

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Abstract

Although the disruptive effects of spinal cord injury (SCI) on the hippocampus have been confirmed in some animal studies, no study has investigated its retrograde manifestations in the hippocampus of aged subjects. Herein, we compared the aged rats with young ones 3 weeks after the induction of SCI (Groups: Sham.Young, SCI.Young, Sham.Aged, SCI.Aged). The locomotion, hippocampal apoptosis, hippocampal rhythms (Delta, Theta, Beta, Gamma) max frequency (Max.rf) and power, hippocampal neurogenesis, and hippocampal receptors (NMDA, GABA A, Muscarinic1/M1), which are important in the generation of rhythms and neurogenesis, were compared in aged rats in contrast to young rats. At the end of the third week, the number of apoptotic (Tunel+) cells in the hippocampus (CA1, DG) of SCI animals was significantly higher compared to the sham animals, and also, it was significantly higher in the SCI.Aged group compared to SCI.Young group. Moreover, the rate of neurogenesis (DCX+, BrdU+ cells) and expression of M1 and NMDA receptors were significantly lower in the SCI.Aged group compared to SCI.Young group. The power and Max.fr of all rhythms were significantly lower in SCI groups compared to sham groups. Despite the decrease in the power of rhythms in the SCI.Aged group compared to SCI.Young group, there was no significant difference between them, and in terms of Max.fr index, only the Max.fr of theta and beta rhythms were significantly lower in the SCI.Aged group compared to SCI.Young group. This study showed that SCI could cause more neurodegeneration in the hippocampus of aged animals compared to young animals.

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Data availability

The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from Iran National Science Foundation (INSF, No. 97017102). The authors would like to express their gratitude to Sajjad Badalkhani for his assistance in the electrophysiological analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience and Cognition, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Golgasht Street, East Azarbayjan, Tabriz, Iran

    Hamid Soltani Zangbar

  2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Golgasht Street, East Azarbayjan, 51666-14766, Tabriz, Iran

    Solmaz Fallahi, Meysam Ghorbani & Parviz Shahabi

  3. Research Center of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Leila Hosseini

  4. Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal

    Mohsen Jafarzadehgharehziaaddin

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HSZ and PSH conceptualized and designed research; HSZ, SF, and MGH performed data collection and analysis; HS prepared figures and tables; MJ reviewed the manuscript for its originality and usage of English language; LH participated in the revision. All authors approved the final draft.

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Correspondence to Hamid Soltani Zangbar or Parviz Shahabi.

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Communicated by Sreedharan Sajikumar.

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Zangbar, H.S., Fallahi, S., Hosseini, L. et al. Spinal cord injury leads to more neurodegeneration in the hippocampus of aged male rats compared to young rats. Exp Brain Res 241, 1569–1583 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06577-x

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