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Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Vol. 148, No. 5, November, 2009
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MORPHOLOGY AND PATHOMORPHOLOGY The Role of Cell Fusion in Physiological and Reparative
Regeneration of the Cerebral Cortex
A. A. Paltsyn, N. B. Konstantinova, G. A. Romanova, F. M. Shakova, Yu. N. Kvashennikova, and A. A. Kubatiev
Translated from Byulleten Eksperimentalnoi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 148, No. 11, pp. 580-583, November, 2009 Original article submitted April 29, 2009
The prefrontal (cognitive) cerebral cortex of rats was studied by morphological and physiological methods 56 days after stroke induced by photothrombosis. The cognitive capacity impaired after the intervention was completely restored by this time. The count of fused cells (dikaryons) increased signicantly in experimental and sham-operated (control) animals in comparison with the early period (7 days) after surgery. Normalization of the dikaryon and mononuclear cell structure was observed after 56 days. Presumably, cell fusion promotes their morphological restoration and regeneration of the lost functional capacity. Fusion is regarded as a manifestation of physiological and reparative regeneration of the cortex.
Key Words: cell fusion; physiological and reparative regeneration of CNS; stroke
Today the majority of scientists regard proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons as the main and even the only mechanism of the nervous system regeneration, including regeneration of its highest compartments [8,9]. However, this opinion is often disputed. Some authors suggest that the methodological errors [3,4,7] in studies of neural stem cell differentiation could distort the results. Since the problem is very intricate and needs sophisticated experiments for its solution, a weighed and, presumably, not ungrounded opinion was expressed: neuronal regeneration by means of differentiation of neural stem cells has been persuasively proven only for intermediate neurons of the olfactory bulb and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus [5,6]. The mechanisms of regeneration of the rest compartments of the brain remain unknown. We started research aimed at clearing out the role of cell fusion in the CNS in health and disease [2].
This paper presents the results of morphological studies of the cell fusion phenomenon and its correlation with the functional changes after ischemic stroke.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study was carried out on outbred male rats (200-230 g; 2 months). Bilateral focal ischemic infarction of rat cerebral prefrontal cortex (elds Fr1...