CCR2 Deficiency and Irradiation-Induced Brain Injury
Cranial irradiation can lead to long-lasting cognitive impairments in patients receiving radiotherapy for the treatment of malignant brain tumors. Recent studies have suggested inflammation as a major contributor to these deficits; we determined if the chemokine (CāC motif) receptor 2 (CCR2) was a mediator of cognitive impairments induced by irradiation. Two-month-old male Ccr2 knockout (ā/ā) and wild-type mice received 10 Gy cranial irradiation or sham-treatment. One month after irradiation, bromodeoxyuridine was injected intraperitoneally for seven consecutive days to label newly generated cells. At two months postirradiation, cognitive function was assessed by novel object recognition and Morris water maze. Our results show that CCR2 deficiency prevented hippocampus-dependent spat...
