Alteration of glial fibrillary acidic proteins immunoreactivity in astrocytes of the spinal cord diabetic rats.

Diabetes affects retinal and nervous glial cells, especially the astrocytes. A key indicator of this response is the alteration in the level of intermediate filament glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and number of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes. To date, no study has investigated the effect of diabetes on the distribution of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes in the spinal cord. Therefore, the present study investigated the effect of diabetes on the number of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes in the gray matter of the spinal cord of streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Animals were divided into six groups (n = 7); 6 weeks and 12 weeks diabetic duration groups and their respective age-matched normal control and sham control groups. Our results demonstrated a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the number of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes in different areas of the spinal cord sections of the 6 weeks and 12 weeks long diabetic rats when compared with the spinal cord of normal and sham control groups of comparable age. The mean percentage in total number of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes in the whole gray matter areas of the spinal cord of the 6 and 12 weeks diabetic groups were approximately 28% and 41% less than control groups. Furthermore, the 12 weeks diabetic group showed a significant (P < 0.001) reduction in the number of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes when compared with the 6 weeks diabetic animals. These results suggest that the induction of diabetes is associated with a reduction in GFAP-positive astrocytes in the spinal cord, which may affect the functional support and role of astrocytic cells in the nervous tissue. This in turn may contribute to the pathological changes associated with diabetic state in the central nervous system.

Afsari ZH ，Renno WM ，Abd-El-Basset E 《Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology》

Altered expression of retinal occludin and glial fibrillary acidic protein in experimental diabetes. The Penn State Retina Research Group.

Barber AJ ，Antonetti DA ，Gardner TW 《INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE》

[Expression of nestin and glial fibrillary acidic protein in injured spinal cord of adult rats at different time].

Yang P ，He X ，Qu J ，Li H ，Lan B ，Yuan P ，Wang G ... -  《-》

Effects of diabetes mellitus on astrocyte GFAP and glutamate transporters in the CNS.

Coleman E ，Judd R ，Hoe L ，Dennis J ，Posner P ... -  《GLIA》

Altered immunoreactivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein in astrocytes within 1 h after cervical spinal cord injury.

Hadley SD ，Goshgarian HG 《EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY》