Publications by authors named "K De Swert"

A murine osmotic demyelinating syndrome (ODS) model was developed through chronic hyponatremia, induced by desmopressin subcutaneous implants, followed by precipitous sodium restoration. The thalamic ventral posterolateral (VPL) and ventral posteromedial (VPM) relay nuclei were the most demyelinated regions where neuroglial damage could be evidenced without immune response. This report showed that following chronic hyponatremia, 12 h and 48 h time lapses after rebalancing osmolarity, amid the ODS-degraded outskirts, some resilient neuronal cell bodies built up primary cilium and axon hillock regions that extended into axon initial segments (AIS) where ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 13B (ARL13B)-immunolabeled rod-like shape content was revealed.

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The utility of human neuroblastoma cell lines as in vitro model to study neuro-invasiveness and neuro-virulence of SARS-CoV-2 has been demonstrated by our laboratory and others. The aim of this report is to further characterize the associated cellular responses caused by a pre-alpha SARS-CoV-2 strain on differentiated SH-SY5Y and to prevent its cytopathic effect by using a set of entry inhibitors. The susceptibility of SH-SY5Y to SARS-CoV-2 was confirmed at high multiplicity-of-infection, without viral replication or release.

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Background And Aim: A murine model mimicking osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) revealed with histology in the relay posterolateral (VPL) and ventral posteromedial (VPM) thalamic nuclei adjoined nerve cell bodies in chronic hyponatremia, amongst the damaged 12 h and 48 h after reinstatement of osmolality. This report aims to verify and complement with ultrastructure other neurophysiology, immunohistochemistry, and molecular biochemistry data to assess the connexin-36 protein, as part of those hinted close contacts.This ODS investigation included four groups of mice: Sham (NN;  = 13), hyponatremic (HN;  = 11), those sacrificed 12 h after a fast restoration of normal natremia (ODS12h;  = 6) and mice sacrificed 48 h afterward, or ODS48 h ( = 9).

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Article Synopsis
  • Following a spinal cord injury (SCI), the extent of motor, sensory, and autonomic loss is linked to the damage of nervous tissue, but current imaging methods cannot fully capture the complexity of this damage.
  • A new technique, synchrotron X-ray phase-contrast tomography (SXPCT), provides high-resolution 3D imaging, allowing researchers to study neurovascular architecture and track changes in spinal cord tissues in mice during the acute and subacute phases post-SCI.
  • Findings showed that while SXPCT effectively visualized neuronal loss and blood-brain barrier breakdown, there was no significant additional loss of motor neurons between 30 minutes and 7 days after injury, indicating early tissue damage may not progress considerably in this time frame.
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xCT is the specific subunit of System xc-, an antiporter importing cystine while releasing glutamate. Although xCT expression has been found in the spinal cord, its expression and role after spinal cord injury (SCI) remain unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize the role of xCT on functional and histological outcomes following SCI induced in wild-type (xCT+/+) and in xCT-deficient mice (xCT-/-).

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