GFAP positivity in neurons following traumatic brain injuries.
Int J Legal Med
; 135(6): 2323-2333, 2021 Nov.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34114049
ABSTRACT
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a well-established astrocytic biomarker for the diagnosis, monitoring and outcome prediction of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Few studies stated an accumulation of neuronal GFAP that was observed in various brain pathologies, including traumatic brain injuries. As the neuronal immunopositivity for GFAP in Alzheimer patients was shown to cross-react with non-GFAP epitopes, the neuronal immunopositivity for GFAP in TBI patients should be challenged. In this study, cerebral and cerebellar tissues of 52 TBI fatalities and 17 controls were screened for immunopositivity for GFAP in neurons by means of immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. The results revealed that neuronal immunopositivity for GFAP is most likely a staining artefact as negative controls also revealed neuronal GFAP staining. However, the phenomenon was twice as frequent for TBI fatalities compared to non-TBI control cases (12 vs. 6%). Neuronal GFAP staining was observed in the pericontusional zone and the ipsilateral hippocampus, but was absent in the contralateral cortex of TBI cases. Immunopositivity for GFAP was significantly correlated with the survival time (r = 0.306, P = 0.015), but no correlations were found with age at death, sex nor the post-mortem interval in TBI fatalities. This study provides evidence that the TBI-associated neuronal immunopositivity for GFAP is indeed a staining artefact. However, an absence post-traumatic neuronal GFAP cannot readily be assumed. Regardless of the particular mechanism, this study revealed that the artefact/potential neuronal immunopositivity for GFAP is a global, rather than a regional brain phenomenon and might be useful for minimum TBI survival time determinations, if certain exclusion criteria are strictly respected.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Lesiones Traumáticas del Encéfalo
/
Proteína Ácida Fibrilar de la Glía
/
Neuronas
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Int J Legal Med
Asunto de la revista:
JURISPRUDENCIA
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Nueva Zelanda