Affiliation:
1. Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College Fudan University; National Centre for Neurological Disorders; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Restoration and Neural Regeneration; Neurosurgical Institute of Fudan University; Shanghai Clinical Medical Centre of Neurosurgery Shanghai China
2. State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Centre for Brain Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences and Institutes of Brain Science Fudan University Shanghai China
Abstract
AbstractAimThe functions of the interlaminar astrocytes in layer I of the human cortex are currently unknown. Here, we aimed to explore whether there is any morphological remodelling of interlaminar astrocytes in layer I of the temporal cortex in epilepsy.MethodsTissues were obtained from 17 epilepsy surgery patients and 17 post‐mortem age‐matched controls. In addition, 10 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and 10 age‐matched controls were used as the disease control group. Paraffin sections (6 μm) and frozen sections (35 or 150 μm) of inferior temporal gyrus tissue were used for immunohistochemistry. With the use of tissue transparency, 3D reconstruction and hierarchical clustering, we performed a quantitative morphological analysis of astrocytes.ResultsUpper and lower zones were identified in layer I of the human cortex. Compared with the astrocytes in layers IV–V, layer I interlaminar astrocytes occupied a significantly smaller volume and exhibited shorter and fewer process intersections. Increased Chaslin's gliosis (consisting of types I and II subpial interlaminar astrocytes) and number of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)‐immunoreactive interlaminar astrocytes in layer I of the temporal cortex were confirmed in patients with epilepsy. There was no difference in the number of interlaminar astrocytes in layer I between AD and age‐matched control groups. Using tissue transparency and 3D reconstruction technology, the astrocyte domain in the human temporal cortex was classified into four clusters, among which the interlaminar astrocytes in cluster II were more abundant in epilepsy, showing specific topological structures in patients with epilepsy. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the astrocyte domain of interlaminar cells in layer I of the temporal cortex in patients with epilepsy.ConclusionThe observed significant astrocytic structural remodelling in the temporal cortex of epilepsy patients showed that the astrocyte domain in layer I may play an important role in temporal lobe epilepsy.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Subject
Physiology (medical),Neurology (clinical),Neurology,Histology,Pathology and Forensic Medicine