Comparative analysis of the methods for quantitative study of the perineuronal net microstructure

Abstract

Perineuronal nets (PNN) are a special and highly structured type of the CNS extracellular matrix. In past few years, the important role of PNN in the normal physiology of the CNS and the changes in their expression associated with some pathologies have been shown, thus suggesting that PNN are involved in the pathogenesis of a number of brain and spinal cord diseases. Until recently, no quantitative studies have focused on the spatial geometry of the PNN meshes. In 2021 and 2022, we published two quantitative studies of the PNN microstructure in the cerebral cortex based on two new, different methods developed by us to analyze high-resolution confocal microscopy data. This article summarizes the results of a comparative analysis of these two methods for quantitative study of the PNN microstructure using microscopy data on the medial prefrontal cortex in an experimental model of schizophrenia. A high correlation was found between the two methods for the mesh area and the linear dimensions of the three-dimensional mesh structure. No correlation was observed for the two-dimensional shape parameters of the mesh. The obtained results demonstrate that the two methods are complementary and have additive value for future quantitative studies of the PNN microstructure.

Keywords

• perineuronal net
• extracellular matrix
• neuron
• central nervous system