The Expression and Cellular Localization of Cc-Chemokine Receptor 5 (Ccr5) After Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury results from a primary insult and secondary events that together result in tissue injury. This primary injury occurs at the moment of impact and damage can include scalp laceration, skull fraction, cerebral contusions and lacerations as well as intracranial hemorrhage. Following the initial insult, a delayed response occurs and is characterized by hypoxia, ischemia, cerebral edema, and infection. During secondary brain injury, a series of neuroinflammatory events are triggered that can produce additional damage but may also help to protect nervous tissue from invading pathogens and help to repair the damaged tissue. Brain microglia and astrocytes become activated and migrate to the site of injury where these cells secrete immune mediators such as cytokines and chemokines. CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is a member of the CC chemokine receptor family of seven transmembrane G protein coupled receptors. CCR5 is expressed in the immune system and is found in monocytes, leukoctyes, memory T cells, and immature dendritic cells. Upon binding to its ligands, CCR5 functions in the chemotaxis of these immune cells to the site of inflammation. In the CNS, CCR5 and its ligands are expressed in multiple cell types. In this study, I investigated whether CCR5 expression is altered in brain after traumatic brain injury. I examined the time course of CCR5 protein expression in cortex and hippocampus using quantitative western analysis of tissues from injured rat brain after mild impact injury. In addition, I also investigated the cellular localization of CCR5 before and after brain injury using confocal microscopy. I have observed that after brain injury CCR5 is upregulated in a time dependent manner in neurons of the parietal cortex and hippocampus. The absence of CCR5 expression in microglia and its delayed expression in neurons after injury suggests a role for CCR5 in neuronal survival after injury.

Name thesis:degree_name

Masters of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis (MS)

Year dc:date.available

2010

Author dc:creator

• Nguyen, Vuvi H.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Andrew Bean Ph.D.
• Pramod Dash Ph.D.
• Raymond Grill Ph.D.

• CCR5
• CC-Chemokine Receptor 5
• Chemokines
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Neuroinflammation
• Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
• Neuroscience and Neurobiology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/37

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu:utgsbs_dissertations-1059