TY - JOUR
T1 - Cerebral Corpora amylacea are dense membranous labyrinths containing structurally preserved cell organelles
AU - Navarro, Paula P.
AU - Genoud, Christel
AU - Castaño-Díez, Daniel
AU - Graff-Meyer, Alexandra
AU - Lewis, Amanda J.
AU - de Gier, Yvonne
AU - Lauer, Matthias E.
AU - Britschgi, Markus
AU - Bohrmann, Bernd
AU - Frank, Stephan
AU - Hench, Jürgen
AU - Schweighauser, Gabriel
AU - Rozemuller, Annemieke J.M.
AU - van de Berg, Wilma D.J.
AU - Stahlberg, Henning
AU - Shahmoradian, Sarah H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, The Author(s).
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Corpora amylacea are cell-derived structures that appear physiologically in the aged human brain. While their histological identification is straightforward, their ultrastructural composition and microenvironment at the nanoscale have remained unclear so far, as has their relevance to aging and certain disease states that involve the sequestration of toxic cellular metabolites. Here, we apply correlative serial block-face scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron tomography to gain three-dimensional insight into the ultrastructure and surrounding microenvironment of cerebral Corpora amylacea in the human brainstem and hippocampal region. We find that cerebral Corpora amylacea are composed of dense labyrinth-like sheets of lipid membranes, contain vesicles as well as morphologically preserved mitochondria, and are in close proximity to blood vessels and the glymphatic system, primarily within the cytoplasm of perivascular glial cells. Our results clarify the nature of cerebral Corpora amylacea and provide first hints on how they may arise and develop in the aging brain.
AB - Corpora amylacea are cell-derived structures that appear physiologically in the aged human brain. While their histological identification is straightforward, their ultrastructural composition and microenvironment at the nanoscale have remained unclear so far, as has their relevance to aging and certain disease states that involve the sequestration of toxic cellular metabolites. Here, we apply correlative serial block-face scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron tomography to gain three-dimensional insight into the ultrastructure and surrounding microenvironment of cerebral Corpora amylacea in the human brainstem and hippocampal region. We find that cerebral Corpora amylacea are composed of dense labyrinth-like sheets of lipid membranes, contain vesicles as well as morphologically preserved mitochondria, and are in close proximity to blood vessels and the glymphatic system, primarily within the cytoplasm of perivascular glial cells. Our results clarify the nature of cerebral Corpora amylacea and provide first hints on how they may arise and develop in the aging brain.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-018-36223-4
DO - 10.1038/s41598-018-36223-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 30575769
AN - SCOPUS:85058910659
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 8
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 18046
ER -