Neuroinflammation in Patients with Osteoarthritis: Pilot study

  • Vladimirs Naumovs (Speaker)
  • Madars Golts (Co-author)

Activity: Talk or presentation typesPoster presentation

Description

Nowadays, osteoarthritis (OA), a common, multifactorial musculoskeletal disease, is considered to have a low-grade inflammatory pathogenetic component. Lately, neuropsychiatric sequelae of the disease have gained recognition. However, a link between the peripheral inflammatory process of OA and the development of neuropsychiatric disorders is not completely understood. Neuroinflammation, stemming from peripherally-produced cytokines, has been suggested to be the causal factor of neuropsychiatric disease. The objective is to study the brain morphology of OA patients using neuroinflammatory markers.. Post-mortem brain specimens have been acquired from the Douglas-Bell Bank of Canada. Six patients were chosen. Of them, three were assigned to the OA group, based on the provided medical records, and three were assigned to the control group. Routine staining and immunohistochemical reaction were performed for the Ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) and CD68 to facilitate visualization of microglial cells as well, as staining for Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) to visualize reactive astrocytes. Semi-quantitative analysis has further been performed to assess inter-group differences.. In the OA group, strong immunoreactivity within cellular bodies of microglial cells and cellular processes that revealed a mossy-like appearance was demonstrated in post-mortem brain specimens for the Iba1 marker. Similarly, the presence of phagocytotic activity with the contribution of microglial cell lysosomes confirmed by the use of CD68 staining was recognized in the brain tissues of OA patients. Apart from the involvement of microglial cells in the process of neuroinflammation, the multifunctionality of astrocytes in the brain of OA patients has been proven by the appearance of diffuse strong and arborizing immunostaining for GFAP.. Patients with OA demonstrate morphological alterations in the brain characteristic of microglial and astrocytic cell activation. However, due to a known functional polymorphism of these cells, further investigation is necessary to assess the relevance of the results to the hypothetical neuroinflammatory process.
Period29 Mar 2023
Event titleRSU International Research Conference 2023: Knowledge for Use in Practice
Event typeConference
OrganiserRīga Stradiņš University
LocationRiga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational