Citation

Ravin R, Blank PS, Steinkamp A, Rappaport SM, Ravin N, Bezrukov L, Guerrero-Cazares H, Quinones-Hinojosa A, Bezrukov SM, Zimmerberg J. PLoS One 2012; 7(6): e39421.

Affiliation

Program in Physical Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0039421

PMID

22768078

PMCID

PMC3387147

Abstract

Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury (bTBI) describes a spectrum of injuries caused by an explosive force that results in changes in brain function. The mechanism responsible for primary bTBI following a blast shockwave remains unknown. We have developed a pneumatic device that delivers shockwaves, similar to those known to induce bTBI, within a chamber optimal for fluorescence microscopy. Abrupt changes in pressure can be created with and without the presence of shear forces at the surface of cells. In primary cultures of human central nervous system cells, the cellular calcium response to shockwaves alone was negligible. Even when the applied pressure reached 15 atm, there was no damage or excitation, unless concomitant shear forces, peaking between 0.3 to 0.7 Pa, were present at the cell surface. The probability of cellular injury in response to a shockwave was low and cell survival was unaffected 20 hours after shockwave exposure.

Language: en