Acute brain slice elastic modulus decreases over time

Abstract

A common benchmark in the brain tissue mechanics literature is that the properties of acute brain slices should be measured within 8 hours of the experimental animal being sacrificed. The core assumption is that — since there is no substantial protein degradation during this time — there will be no change to elastic modulus. This assumption overlooks the possibility of other effects (such as osmotic swelling) that may influence the mechanical properties of the tissue. To achieve consistent and accurate analysis of brain mechanics, it is important to account for or mitigate these effects. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), tissue hydration and volume measurements, we find that acute brain slices in oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) with a standard osmolarity of 300 mOsm/l experience rapid swelling, softening, and increases in hydration within the first two hours after slicing. Reductions in elastic modulus can be partly mitigated by addition of chondroitinase ABC enzyme (CABC). Increasing aCSF osmolarity to 400 mOsm/l does not prevent softening but may hasten equilibration of samples to a point where measurements of relative elastic modulus are consistent across experiments.