Background Blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) is a growing health concern due to the increased use of low-cost improvised explosive devices in modern warfare. Mild blast exposures are common amongst military personnel; however, these women and men typically do not have adequate recovery time from their injuries due to the transient nature of behavioral symptoms. bTBI has been linked to heterogeneous neuropathology, including brain edema, neuronal degeneration and cognitive abnormalities depending on the intensity of blast overpressure and frequency. Recent studies have reported heterogeneity in blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability following blast injury. There still remains a limited understanding of the pathologic changes in the BBB following primary blast injuries. In this study, our goal was to elucidate the pathologic pattern of BBB damage through structural analysis following single and repetitive blast injury using a clinically relevant rat model of bTBI. Methods A validated, open-ended shock tube model was used to deliver single or repetitive primary blast waves. The pathology of the BBB was assessed using immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry assays. All data were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA test. Results We have demonstrated that exposure to repetitive blast injury affects the desmin-positive and CD13-positive subpopulations of pericytes in the BBB. Changes in astrocytes and microglia were also detected. Conclusion This study provides analysis of the BBB components after repetitive blast injury. These results will be critical as preventative and therapeutic strategies are established for veterans recovering from blast-induced traumatic brain injury.

中文翻译：

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重复性原发性爆炸损伤中血脑屏障的结构破坏


背景 由于现代战争中低成本简易爆炸装置的使用增加，爆炸引起的创伤性脑损伤 (bTBI) 成为一个日益严重的健康问题。轻度爆炸暴露在军事人员中很常见；然而，由于行为症状的短暂性，这些女性和男性通常没有足够的时间从伤害中恢复。 bTBI 与异质性神经病理学有关，包括脑水肿、神经元变性和认知异常，具体取决于冲击波超压的强度和频率。最近的研究报告了爆炸损伤后血脑屏障（BBB）通透性的异质性。对于原发性爆炸伤后 BBB 的病理变化的了解仍然有限。在本研究中，我们的目标是使用临床相关的 bTBI 大鼠模型，通过对单次和重复爆炸损伤进行结构分析，阐明 BBB 损伤的病理模式。方法 使用经过验证的开放式激波管模型来传递单个或重复的初级爆炸波。使用免疫荧光和免疫组织化学测定评估 BBB 的病理学。所有数据均使用单向方差分析检验进行分析。结果我们已经证明，暴露于重复性爆炸损伤会影响 BBB 中周细胞的结蛋白阳性和 CD13 阳性亚群。还检测到星形胶质细胞和小胶质细胞的变化。结论 本研究对重复性爆炸损伤后的血脑屏障成分进行了分析。这些结果对于为从爆炸引起的创伤性脑损伤中恢复的退伍军人制定预防和治疗策略至关重要。