Hanna Michael, Pfister Bryan J
Biomedical Engineering Department, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY 10012, USA.
Center for Injury Biomechanics, Materials and Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Cells. 2025 Apr 9;14(8):563. doi: 10.3390/cells14080563.
Recent U.S. military conflicts have underscored the knowledge gap regarding the neurological changes associated with blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI). In vitro models of TBIs have the advantage of following the neuronal response to biomechanical perturbations in real-time, which can be exceedingly difficult in animal models. Here, we sought to develop an in vitro approach with controlled blast biomechanics to study the direct effects of the primary shock wave at the neuronal level. A blast injury apparatus mimicking the human skull and cerebrospinal fluid was developed. Primary neuronal cells were cultured inside the apparatus and exposed to a 70 kPa peak blast overpressure using helium gas in a blast tube. Neuronal viability was measured 24 h after blast exposure. The transmission of the pressure wave through the skull is believed to be a factor in injury to the cells of the brain. Three thicknesses in the apparatus wall were studied to represent the range of thicknesses in a human skull. To study the transmission of the shock wave to the neurons, the incident pressure at the apparatus location, as well as internal apparatus pressure, were measured. Analysis of the internal pressure wave revealed that wave oscillation frequency, not amplitude, was a significant factor in cell viability after a bTBI. This finding is related to the viscoelastic properties of the brain and suggests that the transmission of the shock wave through the skull is an important variable in blast injury.
近期美国的军事冲突凸显了在与爆炸所致创伤性脑损伤（bTBI）相关的神经学变化方面存在的知识空白。创伤性脑损伤的体外模型具有实时跟踪神经元对生物力学扰动反应的优势，而这在动物模型中可能极其困难。在此，我们试图开发一种具有可控爆炸生物力学的体外方法，以研究初级冲击波在神经元水平的直接作用。我们研制了一种模拟人类颅骨和脑脊液的爆炸损伤装置。将原代神经元细胞培养在该装置内，并在爆炸管中使用氦气使其暴露于70千帕的峰值爆炸超压下。在爆炸暴露24小时后测量神经元活力。压力波通过颅骨的传播被认为是导致脑细胞损伤的一个因素。我们研究了该装置壁的三种厚度，以代表人类颅骨厚度的范围。为了研究冲击波向神经元的传播，我们测量了装置所在位置的入射压力以及装置内部压力。对内部压力波的分析表明，在爆炸所致创伤性脑损伤后，波的振荡频率而非振幅是影响细胞活力的一个重要因素。这一发现与大脑的粘弹性特性有关，表明冲击波通过颅骨的传播是爆炸损伤中的一个重要变量。
