Autofluorescence properties of rat cerebellum cortex during postnatal development

Background and Objectives: The multilayered structure of rat neocerebellum cortex (VI-VIII lobules of the vermis) during postnatal development undergoes rearrangements, which in turn are affected by treatment with the anti-tumoral drug cisplatin. The dependence of autofluorescence emission properties on the tissue structural and molecular features has been investigated. Study design/Materials and Methods: Autofluorescence analysis was performed at defined time points of cerebellar histogenesis-11, 17, and 30 postnatal days-under normal conditions or after 5 μg/g body weight cisplatin treatment at 10 postnatal day. Autofluorescence signal was analyzed in vivo at the surface of intact lobules of cerebellum vermis by means of fiber optic spectrofluorometry, or on tissue sections by means of microspectrofluorometry and fluorescence imaging. Results: In vivo spectroscopy showed changes of autofluorescence signal both during normal histogenesis and after cisplatin treatment. External granular layer (EGL) and molecular layer (ML), that is, the more external layers were found to be interested by structural alterations, and showed the greatest changes in signal amplitude, accounting for the in vivo results. Fitting analysis indicated that changes in spectral shape reflected an increase in oxidative damages induced by cisplatin treatment. Conclusions: The results confirm the relationship of the autofluorescence emission properties with histological and biochemical features of biological tissue.