Nickel-induced changes and reappraisal of Rosenthal fibers in focal CNS lesions.

Nickel (Ni) wire implants into the CNS of Lewis rats induce the formation of structures morphologically similar to Rosenthal fibers (RF) seen in human conditions. We describe in detail the time courses of Ni-induced changes in rat astrocytes and compare the Ni-induced RF with RF occurring in focal lesions. Immunocytochemistry at the level of electron microscopy suggests that the Ni-induced RF are largely made up of plasma proteins. We suggest that the mechanism of RF formation and possibly the protein composition of RF depends on the condition in which they are found.