Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a commonly used mouse model of multiple sclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by demyelination leading to brain and spinal cord malfunctions. We postulate that not only biological but also biomechanical properties play an important role in impairements of CNS function. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was applied to investigate mechanical properties of spinal cords collected from EAE mice in preonset, onset, peak, and chronic disease phases. Biomechanical changes were compared with histopathological alterations observed in the successive phases. The deformability of gray matter did not change, while rigidity of white matter increased during the onset phase, remained at the same level in the peak phase and decreased in the chronic phase. Inflammatory infiltration and laminin content accompanied the tissue rigidity increase, whereas demyelination and axonal damage showed an opposite effect. The increase in white matter rigidity can be regarded as an early signature of EAE.

中文翻译：

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在实验性自身免疫性脑脊髓炎（一种多发性硬化症的小鼠模型）的过程中，脊髓僵硬度的变化。

实验性自身免疫性脑脊髓炎（EAE）是多发性硬化症的一种常用小鼠模型，多发性硬化症是一种中枢神经系统（CNS）的慢性炎症性疾病，其特征在于脱髓鞘导致大脑和脊髓功能异常。我们推测，不仅生物学特性而且生物力学特性在中枢神经系统功能受损中也起着重要作用。原子力显微镜（AFM）用于研究从EAE小鼠收集的脊髓的机械特性，包括早发，发作，高峰和慢性疾病阶段。将生物力学变化与在后续阶段中观察到的组织病理学变化进行了比较。灰质的可变形性没有变化，而白质的刚度在发病期增加，在高峰期保持在相同水平，而在慢性期则下降。炎性浸润和层粘连蛋白含量伴随组织刚度增加，而脱髓鞘和轴突损伤显示相反的作用。白质刚度的增加可以看作是EAE的早期特征。