Increased number of microglia in the brain of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice (original) (raw)

Abstract

To assess the in vivo influence of the systemic immune system upon microglia, six defined brain regions of adult SCID mice (n = 10) lacking functional T- and B-lymphocytes have been analyzed by NDPase histochemistry, morphometry and immunohistochemistry. Despite absence of neuropathology and lack of microglial activation, microglial numerical density was significantly increased in SCID mice. Elevation was most marked in the cerebellar granular layer (by 32.6%; 95% confidence interval: 9.9–58.7%), followed by the fimbria hippocampi and the molecular layer of hippocampal CA1/CA3 region. These data need to be taken into account when using SCID mice as a model for microglial reaction in immunodeficient mice.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

• Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
• Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
• Cancel anytime View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

Fig. 2

The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

References

• Abercrombie M (1946) Estimation of nuclear population from microtome sections. Anat Rec 94:239–246
  Article Google Scholar
• Aloisi F (2001) Immune function of microglia. Glia 36:165–179
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Araki R, Fujimori A, Hamatani K, Mita K, Saito T, Mori M, Fukumura R, Morimyo M, Muto M, Itoh M, Tatsumi K, Abe M (1997) Nonsense mutation at Tyr-4046 in the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit of severe combined immune deficiency mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:2438–2443
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Bankert RB, Egilmez NK, Hess SD (2001) Human-SCID mouse chimeric models for the evaluation of anti-cancer therapies. Trends Immunol 22:386–393
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Bechmann I, Nitsch R (2001) Plasticity following lesion: help and harm from the immune system. Restor Neurol Neurosci 19:189–198
  PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Bosma GC, Custer RP, Bosma MJ (1983) A severe combined immunodeficiency mutation in the mouse. Nature 301:527–530
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Caviness VS (1975) Architectonic map of neocortex of the normal mouse. J Comp Neurol 164:247–264
  Article PubMed Google Scholar
• Hailer NP (2008) Immunosuppression after traumatic or ischemic CNS damage: it is neuroprotective and illuminates the role of microglial cells. Prog Neurobiol 84:211–233
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Hickey WF (2001) Basic principles of immunological surveillance of the normal central nervous system. Glia 36:118–124
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Lawson LJ, Perry VH, Dri P, Gordon S (1990) Heterogeneity in the distribution and morphology of microglia in the normal adult mouse brain. Neuroscience 39:151–170
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Lorke DE, Klimaschewski LP (1992) Postnatal development of the locus coeruleus in trisomy 19 mice: morphological and morphometric study. Brain Res Bull 28:923–930
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Lorke DE, Krüger M, Buchert R, Bohuslavizki KH, Clausen M, Schumacher U (2001) In vitro and in vivo tracer characteristics of an established multidrug-resistant human colon cancer cell line. J Nucl Med 42:646–654
  PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Mitchell BS, Schumacher U (1997) Use of immunodeficient mice in metastasis research. Br J Biomed Sci 54:278–286
  PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Nakamura Y (2002) Regulating factors for microglial activation. Biol Pharm Bull 25:945–953
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Nimmerjahn A, Kirchhoff F, Helmchen F (2005) Resting microglial cells are highly dynamic surveillants of brain parenchyma in vivo. Science 308:1314–1318
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Nonoyama S, Ochs HD (1996) Immune deficiency in SCID mice. Int Rev Immunol 13:289–300
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Raivich G, Jones LL, Kloss CU, Werner A, Neumann H, Kreutzberg GW (1998) Immune surveillance in the injured nervous system: T-lymphocytes invade the axotomized mouse facial motor nucleus and aggregate around sites of neuronal degeneration. J Neurosci 18:5804–5816
  PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Rezaie P, Male D (2002) Mesoglia and microglia—a historical review of the concept of mononuclear phagocytes within the central nervous system. Hist Neurosci 11:325–374
  Article Google Scholar
• Schauwecker PE, Steward O (1997) Genetic influences on cellular reactions to brain injury: activation of microglia in denervated neuropil in mice carrying a mutation (Wld(S)) that causes delayed Wallerian degeneration. J Comp Neurol 380:82–94
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Schwartz M, Butovsky O, Brück W, Hanisch UK (2006) Microglial phenotype: is the commitment reversible? Trends Neurosci 29:68–74
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Smith GC, Jackson SP (1999) The DNA-dependent protein kinase. Genes Dev 13:916–934
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Streit WJ, Walter SA, Pennell NA (1999) Reactive microgliosis. Prog Neurobiol 57:563–581
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar
• Watanabe F, Shinohara K, Teraoka H, Komatsu K, Tatsumi K, Suzuki F, Imai T, Sagara M, Tsuji H, Ogiu T (2003) Involvement of DNA-dependent protein kinase in down-regulation of cell cycle progression. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 35:432–440
  Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the valuable technical assistance given by C. Babista, S. Feldhaus, R. Gehrcke, M. Ziesenitz, and K. Siebert. We also wish to thank Dipl. Stat. V. Schoder, Institute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, Hamburg University, for kindly performing the statistical analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Box 17666, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
   Dietrich E. Lorke
2. Institute of Anatomy II, Experimental Morphology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
   Dietrich E. Lorke, Chi Wang Ip & Udo Schumacher
3. Department of Neurology, Developmental Neurobiology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider Str. 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany
   Chi Wang Ip

Authors

1. Dietrich E. Lorke
2. Chi Wang Ip
3. Udo Schumacher

Corresponding author

Correspondence toDietrich E. Lorke.

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lorke, D.E., Ip, C.W. & Schumacher, U. Increased number of microglia in the brain of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice.Histochem Cell Biol 130, 693–697 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-008-0463-2

Download citation

• Accepted: 11 June 2008
• Published: 04 July 2008
• Issue date: October 2008
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-008-0463-2

Keywords