Date Approved

8-28-2024

Embargo Period

9-3-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Department

Biomedical Engineering

College

Rowan-Virtua School of Translational Biomedical Engineering & Sciences

Advisor

Peter Galie, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Patrick Hwang, Ph.D.

Committee Member 2

Sophia Orbach, Ph.D.

Keywords

contusion; ex vivo model; spinal cord injury

Subject(s)

Spinal cord--Wounds and injuries

Disciplines

Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Abstract

Blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) disruption exacerbates the tissue damage caused by spinal cord injury (SCI), but the mechanisms and dynamics of how the barrier breakdown affects the mechanical properties of the tissue remain unclear. The perfused bovine ex vivo indentation injury model described here represents a new platform to investigate the short-term effects of altered blood flow and vascular permeability following traumatic spinal cord injury. Our results indicate that injured cords exhibit changes to bulk perfusion, as evidenced by laser speckle contrast imaging, in addition to decreased barrier function shortly after injury. Indentation tests that simultaneously simulate a crush injury and provide force-indentation data reveal that tissue softening initiates as early as 30 minutes when perfused with whole blood. Perfusing with resuspended RBC (rRBC) instead of whole blood mitigates the decreased stiffness, highlighting the importance of white blood cells and plasma proteins in mediating the extracellular matrix mechanical response after SCI. Immunohistochemical staining indicates increased levels of extravasated Evans blue, ED-1, and vimentin in injured sections, suggesting mechanisms underlying the rapid response in mechanical properties following injury. This research provides novel insights into the immediate mechanical and vascular changes following spinal cord injury.

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