Effects of metabolic syndrome on the ultrastructure of the femoral nerve in aging rats

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to characterize the morphometry of the femoral nerve in aging rats with metabolic syndrome compared to controls. Systolic blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose were measured, and myelinated and unmyelinated fibers in the femoral nerves were quantitatively assessed under electron microscopy. Aging rats exposed to a regimen of metabolic syndrome developed elevation of plasma glucose concentration, mild hypertension and polyneuropathy characterized by a decrease in myelin fiber area, axon diameter, myelin sheath thickness and myelin fiber loss in the femoral nerve. The histogram of size distribution for myelinated fibers and axons from the aging rats of the control group was bimodal. For aging MS animals, the histogram turned out to be unimodal. The ultrastructure of unmyelinated fibers and of Schwann cells in 18-monthold rats was well preserved. Granules of lipofuscin were seen in unmyelinated fiber axons of 18-month-old rats with MS. The damage percentage of the large myelinated fibers has increased significantly in 18- month-old and 18-month-old (MS) rats in relation to the controls. No significant difference was observed among the groups for the g-ratio. Comparing the three groups, the number of neurotubules and neurofilaments in myelinated fibers of 18-month-old rats with MS was significantly smaller than for the groups of 18-month-old and 14-month-old rats. The overall changes seen in the femoral nerve from aging rats seem minor compared to the changes in the aging rats with MS, suggesting that long-term MS accelerates the progressive modifications in peripheral nerves that develop in old age.