Mangus Lisa M, Dorsey Jamie L, Weinberg Rachel L, Ebenezer Gigi J, Hauer Peter, Laast Victoria A, Mankowski Joseph L
Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Toxicol Pathol. 2016 Aug;44(6):904-12. doi: 10.1177/0192623316650286. Epub 2016 May 27.
Quantitative assessment of epidermal nerve fibers (ENFs) has become a widely used clinical tool for the diagnosis of small fiber neuropathies such as diabetic neuropathy and human immunodeficiency virus-associated sensory neuropathy (HIV-SN). To model and investigate the pathogenesis of HIV-SN using simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected Asian macaques, we adapted the skin biopsy and immunostaining techniques currently employed in human patients and then developed two unbiased image analysis techniques for quantifying ENF in macaque footpad skin. This report provides detailed descriptions of these tools and techniques for ENF assessment in macaques and outlines important experimental considerations that we have identified in the course of our long-term studies. Although initially developed for studies of HIV-SN in the SIV-infected macaque model, these methods could be readily translated to a range of studies involving peripheral nerve degeneration and neurotoxicity in nonhuman primates as well as preclinical investigations of agents aimed at neuroprotection and regeneration.
表皮神经纤维(ENFs)的定量评估已成为诊断诸如糖尿病性神经病变和人类免疫缺陷病毒相关感觉神经病变(HIV-SN)等小纤维神经病变的一种广泛应用的临床工具。为了利用感染猿猴免疫缺陷病毒(SIV)的亚洲猕猴来模拟和研究HIV-SN的发病机制,我们采用了目前人类患者所使用的皮肤活检和免疫染色技术,然后开发了两种无偏倚的图像分析技术来量化猕猴脚垫皮肤中的ENF。本报告详细描述了这些用于评估猕猴ENF的工具和技术,并概述了我们在长期研究过程中确定的重要实验注意事项。尽管这些方法最初是为在感染SIV的猕猴模型中研究HIV-SN而开发的,但它们可以很容易地转化为一系列研究,包括涉及非人类灵长类动物外周神经变性和神经毒性的研究,以及针对神经保护和再生药物的临床前研究。