Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin in the central nervous system in cases of traumatic brain injury in dogs and cats

• Grant number: 15/15357-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: August 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Paulo César Maiorka
• Grantee: Dâmaris Marçal Pordeus
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a physical injury to the brain tissue, causing temporary or permanent deficit in brain functionality. The injuries caused by TBI can be primary or secondary: the primary are classified as concussion, contusion and laceration, which occur by the time of the coup, and the countercoup may occur as well - those are able to generate focal or diffuse injuries in the parenchyma; the secondary are generated due to the trauma, that can lead to the release of inflammatory mediators, and are supposed to be minimized because may occur within several days after the injury. The secondary injuries cause several problems such as cerebral edema, haemorrhage, hypertension and hypoxia, due to the sodium influx, opening of calcium channels, release of nitric oxide, glutamate and free radicals. The evaluation of the type of trauma, as well as the standard analysis of these injuries and its consequences is important, especially by the increase of the social demand for the investigation of cases suspicions of cruelty towards dogs and cats. It can be made by utilizing immunohistochemical techniques with the utilization of antibodies, and such lesions may produce characteristic patterns of immunolabelling of damaged cells. The aim of this study is to identify and characterize such injuries, as well as the level of the damage, by using immunohistochemical technique, the GFAP antibody, which is a common marker of the nervous system cells, and vimentin antibody, that marks mesenchymal cells and astrocytes.