Impact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injury
Abstract Chemical and pharmaceutical exposures have been associated with the development of Gulf War Illness (GWI), but how these factors interact with the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains an area of study that has received little attention thus far. We studied the effects of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Acta Neuropathologica Communications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-022-01449-x |
| _version_ | 1811250082938355712 |
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| author | Scott Ferguson Robyn McCartan Mackenzie Browning Coral Hahn-Townsend Arissa Gratkowski Alexander Morin Laila Abdullah Ghania Ait-Ghezala Joseph Ojo Kimberly Sullivan Michael Mullan Fiona Crawford Benoit Mouzon |
| author_facet | Scott Ferguson Robyn McCartan Mackenzie Browning Coral Hahn-Townsend Arissa Gratkowski Alexander Morin Laila Abdullah Ghania Ait-Ghezala Joseph Ojo Kimberly Sullivan Michael Mullan Fiona Crawford Benoit Mouzon |
| author_sort | Scott Ferguson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Chemical and pharmaceutical exposures have been associated with the development of Gulf War Illness (GWI), but how these factors interact with the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains an area of study that has received little attention thus far. We studied the effects of pyridostigmine bromide (an anti-nerve agent) and permethrin (a pesticide) exposure in a mouse model of repetitive mild TBI (r-mTBI), with 5 impacts over a 9-day period, followed by Gulf War (GW) toxicant exposure for 10 days beginning 30 days after the last head injury. We then assessed the chronic behavioral and pathological sequelae 5 months after GW agent exposure. We observed that r-mTBI and GWI cumulatively affect the spatial memory of mice in the Barnes maze and result in a shift of search strategies employed by r-mTBI/GW exposed mice. GW exposure also produced anxiety-like behavior in sham animals, but r-mTBI produced disinhibition in both the vehicle and GW treated mice. Pathologically, GW exposure worsened r-mTBI dependent axonal degeneration and neuroinflammation, increased oligodendrocyte cell counts, and increased r-mTBI dependent phosphorylated tau, which was found to colocalize with oligodendrocytes in the corpus callosum. These results suggest that GW exposures may worsen TBI-related deficits. Veterans with a history of both GW chemical exposures as well as TBI may be at higher risk for worse symptoms and outcomes. Subsequent exposure to various toxic substances can influence the chronic nature of mTBI and should be considered as an etiological factor influencing mTBI recovery. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T15:58:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f7e54544c7da46d0b526cdf3bd7de54b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2051-5960 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T15:58:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Neuropathologica Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-f7e54544c7da46d0b526cdf3bd7de54b2022-12-22T03:26:17ZengBMCActa Neuropathologica Communications2051-59602022-10-0110112210.1186/s40478-022-01449-xImpact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injuryScott Ferguson0Robyn McCartan1Mackenzie Browning2Coral Hahn-Townsend3Arissa Gratkowski4Alexander Morin5Laila Abdullah6Ghania Ait-Ghezala7Joseph Ojo8Kimberly Sullivan9Michael Mullan10Fiona Crawford11Benoit Mouzon12Roskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteDepartment of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston UniversityRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteRoskamp InstituteAbstract Chemical and pharmaceutical exposures have been associated with the development of Gulf War Illness (GWI), but how these factors interact with the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains an area of study that has received little attention thus far. We studied the effects of pyridostigmine bromide (an anti-nerve agent) and permethrin (a pesticide) exposure in a mouse model of repetitive mild TBI (r-mTBI), with 5 impacts over a 9-day period, followed by Gulf War (GW) toxicant exposure for 10 days beginning 30 days after the last head injury. We then assessed the chronic behavioral and pathological sequelae 5 months after GW agent exposure. We observed that r-mTBI and GWI cumulatively affect the spatial memory of mice in the Barnes maze and result in a shift of search strategies employed by r-mTBI/GW exposed mice. GW exposure also produced anxiety-like behavior in sham animals, but r-mTBI produced disinhibition in both the vehicle and GW treated mice. Pathologically, GW exposure worsened r-mTBI dependent axonal degeneration and neuroinflammation, increased oligodendrocyte cell counts, and increased r-mTBI dependent phosphorylated tau, which was found to colocalize with oligodendrocytes in the corpus callosum. These results suggest that GW exposures may worsen TBI-related deficits. Veterans with a history of both GW chemical exposures as well as TBI may be at higher risk for worse symptoms and outcomes. Subsequent exposure to various toxic substances can influence the chronic nature of mTBI and should be considered as an etiological factor influencing mTBI recovery.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-022-01449-xTraumatic brain injuryGulf war illnessToxic exposuresNeuroinflammationChemical exposureWhite matter |
| spellingShingle | Scott Ferguson Robyn McCartan Mackenzie Browning Coral Hahn-Townsend Arissa Gratkowski Alexander Morin Laila Abdullah Ghania Ait-Ghezala Joseph Ojo Kimberly Sullivan Michael Mullan Fiona Crawford Benoit Mouzon Impact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injury Acta Neuropathologica Communications Traumatic brain injury Gulf war illness Toxic exposures Neuroinflammation Chemical exposure White matter |
| title | Impact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injury |
| title_full | Impact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injury |
| title_fullStr | Impact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injury |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injury |
| title_short | Impact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injury |
| title_sort | impact of gulf war toxic exposures after mild traumatic brain injury |
| topic | Traumatic brain injury Gulf war illness Toxic exposures Neuroinflammation Chemical exposure White matter |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-022-01449-x |
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