[Immunohistochemistry of degenerative changes in the central nervous system in spastic paraparesis associated to human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)].

Autor: Cartier R L; Departamento de Ciencias Neurológicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Concepción, Chile. lcartier@med.uchile.cl, Vergara R C, Valenzuela P MA
Jazyk: Spanish; Castilian
Zdroj: Revista medica de Chile [Rev Med Chil] 2007 Sep; Vol. 135 (9), pp. 1139-46. Date of Electronic Publication: 2007 Nov 15.
DOI: 10.4067/s0034-98872007000900007
Abstrakt: Background: Human T lymphotropic virus type I is associated with tropical spastic paraparesis, that is a chronic and progressive disease which damages specially the cortiespinal tracts. The pathogenesis of this degenerative process remains unknown.
Aim: To identify histopathological aspects that could suggest a pathogenic hypothesis we studied immunohistochemical features in spinal cords obtained from patients that died due to progressive spastic paraparesis.
Patients and Methods: Five males and five females, who died between 1990 and 2000, with a mean age of 52 years and mean disease duration of 8.6, were studied. All had a complete clinical and virological diagnosis. Samples were obtained from the frontal motor cortex and spinal cord (cervical, dorsal and lumbar segments), were fixed in formol (10%), included in paraffin, and stained with Haematoxylin and Luxol-fast-blue. Immunohistochemical study was made with anti-neurofilament antibodies 1:100 (M0762, DAKO), anti-APP 1:20 (Rabbit Pre Amyloid protein 51-2700 ZYMED), anti-tau 1:100 (A0024 DAKO) and anti-ubiquitine 1:50 (NCL UBIQm Novocastra).
Results: All cases had demyelinization and axonal loss in the cortico-spinal tracts; distal and segmental demyelinization of Goll tract; axonal thickening, amyloid precursor protein deposits in the white matter; tau protein aggregation in the spinal cord oligodendrocytes; axonal ubiquitination of sensitive and motor tracts, and subcortical white matter. Neurona! injury was absent.
Conclusions: The systematic damage of motor and sensitive tracts of the spinal-cord and the absence of neurona! damage, defines a degenerative process limited to axons. This central axonopathie could be caused by a disturbance of axoplasmic transport.
Databáze: MEDLINE