Development of cerebrospinal fluid and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier in rabbits☆

摘要

Bloodplasmaandcerebrospinalfluid(CSF)sampleswerecollectedfromadultfemalerabbits(NewZealandWhite),newborn,andembryosat18,20,24,and28daysofgestation.SampleswereanalyzedfortotalproteinusingtheFolinphenolreagent.Duringdevelopment,meantotalproteinofbloodplasmarosesharplyfrom12.45to12.51mg/mlat18to20daysto37.56mg/mlat28days.Levelsfurtherincreasedto54.06mg/mlinthenewbornandto66.18mg/mlintheadult.Theproteinconcentrationofcerebrospinalfluidwasconstantat5.20to5.29mg/mlbetween18and20daysofgestation,butsteadilydecreasedto3.53mg/mlat28days.Bybirth,theCSFproteinconcentrationwasfurtherreducedto2.08mg/ml,andthisleveldifferedonlyslightly(P&0.05)fromCSFproteinvaluesdeterminedforadults.Thesedataindicatethattheblood-cerebrospinalfluidbarriertoproteinsbeginstofunctionby18to20daysofgestation,andtheproteinconcentrationofcerebrospinalfluidapproachesthenormaladultvaluesoonafterbirth.