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Assessing Microvessels After Spinal Cord Injury

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Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries II

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on the assessment of spinal cord microvessels which are lost at the injury epicenter within 24 h after spinal cord contusion or compression in adult rats and mice. The penumbral blood vessels undergo angiogenesis during the first and second week possibly contributing to recovery. Rescue of blood vessels results in better tissue preservation and functional outcomes. We describe various markers, intravenous labeling techniques, quantitative histological measurements, permeability assays, collection of purified microvessels, genetic mouse models, and endothelial cell culture methods to assess vascular status after spinal cord injury.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Kentucky Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research Trust and National Institutes of Health (NS045734 and RR015576) and by Norton Healthcare and the Commonwealth of Kentucky Challenge for Excellence (SRW, TH). We thank the many people who over the years have contributed to the development of these techniques, including Sheila Arnold, Darlene Burke, Charles Crawford, Jessica Darnall, Toros Dincman, Justin Geralds, Mark Gruenthal, Shu Han, Russ Howard, David Loy, Melissa Maddie, Ed Mahoney, Scott Myers, Christine Nunn, Rollie Reid, and Sheher Sun.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Neurological Surgery and Pharmacology & Toxicology, Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, School of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Theo Hagg

  2. Departments of Neurological Surgery and Anatomical Sciences & Neurobiology, Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Richard L. Benton & Scott R. Whittemore

  3. Departments of Neurological Surgery and Anatomical Sciences & Neurobiology, M.D./Ph.D. Program, Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Janelle M. Fassbender

Authors
  1. Theo Hagg
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  2. Richard L. Benton
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  3. Janelle M. Fassbender
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  4. Scott R. Whittemore
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Theo Hagg .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Terrace St. 3500, Pittsburgh, 15213, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jun Chen

  2. School of Medicine, Stark Neurosciences Res. Inst., Indiana University, W. Walnut St. 950, Indianapolis, 46202, Indiana, USA

    Xiao-Ming Xu

  3. School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Indiana University, Barnhill Dr. 635, Indianapolis, 46202, Indiana, USA

    Zao C. Xu

  4. School of Medicine, Dept. Neurosurgery, Loma Linda University, Anderson St. 11234, Loma Linda, 92354, California, USA

    John H. Zhang

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Hagg, T., Benton, R.L., Fassbender, J.M., Whittemore, S.R. (2012). Assessing Microvessels After Spinal Cord Injury. In: Chen, J., Xu, XM., Xu, Z., Zhang, J. (eds) Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries II. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-782-8_41

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-782-8_41

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