Nature Communications (Mar 2017)

The soft mechanical signature of glial scars in the central nervous system

  • Emad Moeendarbary,
  • Isabell P. Weber,
  • Graham K. Sheridan,
  • David E. Koser,
  • Sara Soleman,
  • Barbara Haenzi,
  • Elizabeth J. Bradbury,
  • James Fawcett,
  • Kristian Franze

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14787
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Glial scars are thought to provide a biochemical and mechanical barrier to neuronal regeneration post-injury, but the mechanical properties of the scars have not been studied in detail. Here the authors perform atomic force microscopy measurements of glial scars from the injured rat cortex and spinal cord, and find that brain tissue softens in response to the injury.