The methods of vibrational microspectroscopy reveals long-term biochemical anomalies within the region of mechanical injury within the rat brain

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), meaning functional or structural brain damage which appear as a result of the application of the external physical force, constitutes the main cause of death and disability of individuals and a great socioeconomic problem. To search for the new therapeutic strategies for TBI, better knowledge about posttraumatic pathological changes occurring in the brain is necessary. Therefore in the present paper the Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy and Raman microscopy were used to examine local and remote biochemical changes occurring in the rat brain as a result of focal cortex injury. The site of the injury and the dorsal part of the hippocampal formation together with the above situated cortex and white matter were the subject of the study. The topographic and quantitative biochemical analysis followed with the statistical study using principal component analysis showed significant biomolecular anomalies within the lesion site but not in the area of the dorsal hippocampal formation and in the above situated white matter and cortex. The observed intralesional anomalies included significantly decreased accumulation of lipids and their structural changes within the place of injury. Also the levels of compounds containing phosphate and carbonyl groups were lower within the lesion site comparing to the surrounding cortex. The opposite relation was, in turn, found for the bands characteristic to proteins and cholesterol/cholesterol esters. CO 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

The study utilized Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy and Raman microscopy to investigate local and remote biochemical changes in the rat brain, revealing significant biomolecular anomalies within the lesion site but not in the area of the dorsal hippocampal formation and in the above situated white matter and cortex. The observed intralesional anomalies included decreased accumulation of lipids and levels of compounds containing phosphate and carbonyl groups, while an opposite relationship was found for proteins and cholesterol/cholesterol esters.