Peripheral axonopathy in sciatic nerve of adult Wistar rats following exposure to vanadium

Abstract

Depletion of myelin and neurobehavioural deficits are indications that vanadium crosses the blood‐brain barrier and such neurotoxic effects of vanadium on the brain of Wistar rats have been elucidated. The effect however on the peripheral nerves, is yet to be reported. Thus, this work was designed to evaluate the axonal and myelin integrity of sciatic nerves in Wistar rats following exposure to vanadium. Ten male Wistar rats were exposed to 3 mg/kg body weight of sodium metavanadate for 7 days, subjected to rearing and forelimb grip behavioural tests, and sciatic nerves processed for histology (haematoxylin and eosin, cresyl violet, and luxol fast blue). Dystrophic axons with vesiculated myelin, thinned myelin sheath, and demyelinated axons were observed in the vanadium exposed rats, suggestive of axonopathy, classified as fourth‐degree nerve injury. Lower behavioural scores were recorded for vanadium‐dosed rats; thus, corroborating histological pictures observed of the sciatic nerves. Authors posit that vanadium crossed the “blood‐nerve” barrier and caused the observed axonal pathologies and myelin depletion in the sciatic nerves of these rodents with resultant motor deficits. The present paper discusses possible motor deficits and the likely public health importance in regions with crude oil pollution and gas flaring rich in vanadium products.

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“…Furthermore, the significant role of the hippocampus in behavioural and cognitive functions as well as in memory formation and consolidation has been well documented in the literature (Vanderwolf 1992;Riedel et al 2000). The histological zones of the AGR hippocampus have been described (Mustapha et al 2019a). Histologically, the hippocampus is composed of the dentate gyrus and hippocampus proper (CA 1 -4 subfields).…”

“…This has earned them nicknames such as HeroRATs and Sniff rats (Carrington 2014). These neural attributes have been linked to the hippocampus -a functional part of the limbic system and one of the oldest phylogenetic parts of the brain (De Quervain et al 2017;Mustapha et al 2019a). Furthermore, the significant role of the hippocampus in behavioural and cognitive functions as well as in memory formation and consolidation has been well documented in the literature (Vanderwolf 1992;Riedel et al 2000).…”

“…200 µm sections were made on a sliding microtome. The pieces were transferred into absolute alcohol for 15 min, after which the sections were transferred into oil cloves for 15 min (Mustapha et al 2019a).…”