Artifactual dendritic beading in XXXX spinal cord induced by perfusion with cold saline and @entity1604 .

@entity35 @entity1604 @entity19744
Extensive dendritic beading of @entity19744 ( @entity19744 ) immunoreactivity has previously been observed in the contused @entity35 spinal cord. However, we have also observed dendritic beading in occasional uninjured animals. The purpose of this study was to examine the possibility that perfusion conditions contributed to the dendritic beading. Under deep anesthesia, uninjured @entity35 (adult female Long-Evans, 200-225 g) were transcardially perfused with 0.9% saline solution followed by 4% @entity1604 at cold (4 degrees C) or warm (20 degrees C) temperature, and at a low (20 ml/min) or high (50 ml/min) flow rate. Dendrites were visualized by @entity19744 immunoreactivity. The results demonstrate that perfusion with cold solutions at a high flow rate induces pronounced dendritic beading, and when perfused at a low flow rate, results in moderate dendritic beading. Warm perfusates did not induce dendritic beading when administered at a low flow rate, but occasional beading was observed with a high flow rate. Western blots revealed spectrin breakdown, but not @entity19744 loss, in @entity35 perfused with cold saline solution at a high flow rate, conditions that also resulted in dendritic beading. These findings demonstrate that dendritic morphology is sensitive to both temperature and flow rate of the perfusate. Warm fixative and a low perfusion flow rate minimized the perfusion-induced dendritic beading.
