Components of myelin damage and repair in the progression of white matter pathology after mild traumatic brain injury

Abstract

White matter tracts are highly vulnerable to damage from impact-acceleration forces of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Mild TBI is characterized by a low density of traumatic axonal injury, whereas associated myelin pathology is relatively unexplored. We examined the progression of white matter pathology in mice after mild TBI with traumatic axonal injury localized in the corpus callosum. Adult mice received a closed-skull impact and were analyzed from 3 days to 6 weeks post-TBI/sham surgery. At all times post-TBI, electron microscopy revealed degenerating axons distributed among intact fibers in the corpus callosum. Intact axons exhibited significant demyelination at 3 days followed by evidence of remyelination at 1 week. Accordingly, bromodeoxyuridine pulse-chase labeling demonstrated the generation of new oligodendrocytes, identified by myelin proteolipid protein messenger RNA expression, at 3 days post-TBI. Overall oligodendrocyte populations, identified by immunohistochemical staining for CC1 and/or glutathione S-transferase pi, were similar between TBI and sham mice by 2 weeks. Excessively long myelin figures, similar to redundant myelin sheaths, were a significant feature at all post-TBI time points. At 6 weeks post-TBI, microglial activation and astrogliosis were localized to areas of axon and myelin pathology. These studies show that demyelination, remyelination, and excessive myelin are components of white matter degeneration and recovery in mild TBI with traumatic axonal injury.