Microdissection: A method developed to investigate mechanisms involved in transmissible spongiform encephalopathy pathogenesis

摘要

BackgroundThe transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of neurodegenerative diseases affecting both human and animals. The neuroanatomical changes which occur in the central nervous system (CNS) of TSE infected animals include vacuolation, gliosis, neuronal loss and the deposition of a disease specific protein, PrP^Sc. Experimental murine models of scrapie, a TSE of sheep, have revealed that pathology may be confined to specific brain areas with targeting of particular neuronal subsets depending on route of injection and scrapie isolate.To assess the biochemical changes which are taking place in these targeted areas it was necessary to develop a reliable sampling procedure (microdissection) which could be used for a variety of tests such as western blotting and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.