CD38 exacerbates focal cytokine production, postischemic inflammation and brain injury after focal cerebral ischemia

Background

Converging evidence suggests that inflammatory processes significantly influence brain injury and clinical impairment in ischemic stroke. Although early studies suggested a key role of lymphocytes, recent data has emphasized the orchestrating function of innate immunity, i.e., macrophages and microglia. The bifunctional receptor and ectoenzyme CD38 synthesizes calcium-mobilizing second messengers (e.g., cyclic ADP-ribose), which have been shown to be necessary for activation and migration of myeloid immune cells. Therefore, we investigated the dynamics of CD38 in stroke and the impact of CD38-deficiency on cytokine production, inflammation and cerebral damage in a mouse model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We show that the local expression of the chemokine MCP-1 was attenuated in CD38-deficient mice compared with wildtype mice after focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. In contrast, no significant induction of MCP-1 expression was observed in peripheral blood after 6 hours. Flow cytometry analysis revealed less infiltrating macrophages and lymphocytes in the ischemic hemisphere of CD38-deficient mice, whereas the amount of resident microglia was unaltered. An up-regulation of CD38 expression was observed in macrophages and CD8⁺ cells after focal cerebral ischemia in wildtype mice, whereas CD38 expression was unchanged in microglia. Finally, we demonstrate that CD38-deficiency decreases the cerebral ischemic injury and the persistent neurological deficit after three days of reperfusion in this murine temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) model.

Conclusion/Significance

CD38 is differentially regulated following stroke and its deficiency attenuates the postischemic chemokine production, the immune cell infiltration and the cerebral injury after temporary ischemia and reperfusion. Therefore CD38 might prove a therapeutic target in ischemic stroke.     

Changes in cerebral free fatty acids and triacylglycerols in focal cerebral ischemia

1. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced in anesthetized rats by occluding the stem of the proximal middle cerebral artery. 2. The levels of free fatty acids, such as stearic and arachidonic acids, in the ischemic cerebral cortex increased progressively until 60 min after occlusion, but thereafter they decreased rapidly. 3. In contrast to the time-dependent changes in free fatty acids, the levels of triacylglycerol (TAG) in the ischemic cerebral cortex continued to increase for 120 min after occlusion. Increases in TAG-palmitate, -stearate and -arachidonate accounted for the increase in the triacylglycerol level. 4. The pattern of the lipid changes in focal cerebral ischemia differs from those reported in bilateral diffuse cerebral ischemia induced by arterial occlusion or in decapitation ischemia.     

Nitric oxide down-regulates caveolin-1 expression in rat brains during focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury

As a signalling molecule of the integral membrane protein family, caveolin participates in cellular signal transduction via interaction with other signalling molecules. The nature of interaction between nitric oxide (NO) and caveolin in the brain, however, remains largely unknown. In this study we investigated the role(s) of NO in regulating caveolin-1 expression in rat ischemic brains with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Exposure to 1 h ischemia induced the increases in neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and NO concentration with concurrent down-regulation of caveolin-1 expression in the ischemic core of rat brains. Subsequent 24 h or more reperfusion time led to an increase in inducible NOS (iNOS) expression and NO production, as well as a decline of caveolin-1 protein at the core and penumbra of the ischemic brain. Afterwards, NOS inhibitors and an NO donor were utilized to clarify the link between NO production and caveolin-1 expression in the rats with 1 h ischemia plus 24 h reperfusion. N(G)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, a non-selective NOS inhibitor), N(6)-(1-iminoethyl)-lysine (NIL, an iNOS inhibitor), and 7-nitroindazole (7-NI, a nNOS inhibitor) prevented the loss of caveolin-1 in the core and penumbra of the ischemic brain, whereas l-N(5)-(1-iminoethyl)-ornithine (L-NIO, an endothelial NOS inhibitor) showed less effect than the other NOS inhibitors. S-Nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP, a NO donor) down-regulated the expression of caveolin-1 protein in normal and ischemic brains. These results, when taken together, suggest that NO modulates the expression of caveolin-1 in the brain and that the loss of caveolin-1 is associated with NO production in the ischemic brain.     

Animal models of focal and global cerebral ischemia

The use of appropriate animal models is essential to predict the value and effect of therapeutic approaches in human subjects. Focal (stroke) and global (cardiac arrest) cerebral ischemia represents diseases that are common in the human population. Stroke and cardiac arrest, which are major causes of death and disability, affect millions of individuals around the world and are responsible for the leading health care costs of all diseases. Understanding the mechanisms of injury and neuroprotection in these diseases is critical if we are ever to learn new target sites to treat ischemia. There are many animal models available to investigate injury mechanisms and neuroprotective strategies. This review summarizes many (but not all) small and large animal models of focal and global cerebral ischemia and discusses their advantages and disadvantages.     

Transient focal cerebral ischemia upregulates immunoproteasomal subunits

This study was designed to determine whether focal cerebral ischemia alters the expression of the immunoproteasomal (i-proteasomal) subunits. Transient cerebral ischemia significantly increased the expression of the i-proteasomal subunits, 20S β1i (LMP2) and β5i (LMP7) in the parietal cortex and hippocampus. This alteration was associated with a remarkable increase in ubiquitinated proteins. It is likely that the postischemic induction of the i-proteasome plays an important role in coping with the damaged proteins and thus may have an important effect on neuronal survival and death.     

Involvement of free radicals in cerebral vascular reperfusion injury evaluated in a transient focal cerebral ischemia model of rat

Free radicals have been suggested to be largely involved in the genesis of ischemic brain damage, as shown in the protective effects of alpha-phenyl-N-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN), a spin trapping agent, against ischemic cerebral injury. In the present study, the effects of PBN as well as MCI-186, a newly-developed free radical scavenger, and oxypurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, were evaluated in a rat transient middle cerebral aretery (MCA) occlusion model to clarify the possible role of free radicals in the reperfusion injury of brain. The volume of cerebral infarction, induced by 2-h occlusion and subsequent 2-h reperfusion of MCA in Fisher-344 rats, was evaluated. The administration of PBN (100 mg/kg) and MCI-186 (100 mg/kg) just before reperfusion of MCA significantly reduced the infarction volume. In contrast, oxypurinol (100 mg/kg) failed to show any preventive effect on the infarction. These results suggest that free radical formation is involved in the cerebral damage induced by ischemia-reperfusion of MCA, and that hydroxyl radical is responsible for the reperfusion injury after transient focal brain ischemia. It is also suggested that xanthine oxidase is not a major source of free radicals.     

NG-硝基-L-精氨酸对大鼠局灶性缺血脑区线粒体损伤的影响

目的:观察非选择性一氧化氮合酶抑制剂NG-硝基-L-精氨酸(NG-nitro-L-arginine,L-NA)对局灶性脑缺血大鼠脑线粒体的损伤作用,以探讨其改善缺血性脑损伤的作用机制。方法:将大鼠随机分为假手术组、缺血对照组、L-NA治疗组,采用线栓法阻断大鼠大脑中动脉(MCAO)复制局灶性脑缺血模型,分别于缺血后2h、6h、12h给药治疗3d,迅速断头取脑,差速离心法提取缺血侧脑组织线粒休,迅速测定线粒体膜肿胀度及线粒体活力,测定线粒体总ATP酶、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)活性,以及线粒休一氧化氮(NO)、丙二醛(MDA)含量:电镜观察缺血后皮层神经元超微结构的改变及L-NA对其影响。结果:在大鼠MCAO后线粒体膜肿胀度增加,线粒体活力下降,线粒体NO、MDA含量明显增加,线粒体总ATP酶、SOD、GSH-Px活性均明显下降:缺血后2h、6h、12h给予L-NA治疗3d与缺血对照组相比NO含量明显下降,缺血后12h治疗组线粒体膜肿胀度、线粒体活力、总ATP酶、SOD、GSH-Px活性均显著升高、MDA含量下降。电镜结果显示脑缺血后皮层神经元水肿,线粒体肿胀、嵴断裂、溶解、消失,且随缺血时间延长损伤加重;缺血后12h给予L-NA治疗能明显改善脑缺血引起的神经元水肿、线粒体肿胀和空泡化。结论:L-NA能明显抑制脑缺血后线粒体NO生成,在缺血早期给予L-NA对缺血性脑损伤无改善作用:缺血后期给予L-NA,能明显降低线粒体膜肿胀程度,改善线粒体能量供应,增强线粒体抗氧化作用及其活力,从而减轻脑缺血损伤。     

Carvacrol, a food-additive, provides neuroprotection on focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice

Carvacrol (CAR), a naturally occurring monoterpenic phenol and food additive, has been shown to have antimicrobials, antitumor, and antidepressant-like activities. A previous study demonstrated that CAR has the ability to protect liver against ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of CAR on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in a middle cerebral artery occlusion mouse model. We found that CAR (50 mg/kg) significantly reduced infarct volume and improved neurological deficits after 75 min of ischemia and 24 h of reperfusion. This neuroprotection was in a dose-dependent manner. Post-treatment with CAR still provided protection on infarct volume when it was administered intraperitoneally at 2 h after reperfusion; however, intracerebroventricular post-treatment reduced infarct volume even when the mice were treated with CAR at 6 h after reperfusion. These findings indicated that CAR has an extended therapeutic window, but delivery strategies may affect the protective effects of CAR. Further, we found that CAR significantly decreased the level of cleaved caspase-3, a marker of apoptosis, suggesting the anti-apoptotic activity of CAR. Finally, our data indicated that CAR treatment increased the level of phosphorylated Akt and the neuroprotection of CAR was reversed by a PI3K inhibitor LY-294002, demonstrating the involvement of the PI3K/Akt pathway in the anti-apoptotic mechanisms of CAR. Due to its safety and wide use in the food industry, CAR is a promising agent to be translated into clinical trials.     

Antioxidant ebselen reduces oxidative damage in focal cerebral ischemia

The antioxidant and neuroprotective potential of the glutathione peroxidase mimic ebselen has been investigated in experimental stroke. Intravenous ebselen (1 mg/kg/h) or vehicle infusion was started 45 min before permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat, and continued until the end of the experiment. The topography and extent of oxidative damage to the brain was assessed immunohistochemically using an antibody for DNA damage that identified hydroxylated products of 2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG/8-oxodGuo) and an antibody for lipid peroxidation that identified the 4-hydroxynonenal histidine adduct (4-HNE). Ischemic damage was mapped and evaluated with standard histopathology. In the vehicle-treated rats immunopositive staining for both 8-oxodGuo and 4-HNE extended beyond the boundary of ischemic damage. In ebselen-treated rats, the extent of tissue immunopositive for 8-oxodGuo, and 4-HNE was less than that demonstrating ischemic damage confirming the antioxidant mechanism of action in vivo. In addition, ebselen treatment induced a 28% reduction in cortical ischemic damage (p <.02).     

Models of focal cerebral ischemia in the nonhuman primate

Ischemic stroke is a uniquely human disease syndrome. Models of focal cerebral ischemia developed in nonhuman primates provide clinically relevant platforms for investigating pathophysiological alterations associated with ischemic brain injury, microvascular responses, treatment responses, and clinically relevant outcomes that may be appropriate for ischemic stroke patients. A considerable number of advantages attend the use of nonhuman primate models in cerebral vascular research. Appropriate development of such models requires neurosurgical expertise to produce single or multiple vascular occlusions. A number of experimentally and clinically accessible outcomes can be measured, including neurological deficits, neuron injury, evidence of non-neuronal cell injury, infarction volume, real-time imaging of injury development, vascular responses, regional cerebral blood flow, microvascular events, the relation between neuron and vascular events, and behavioral outcomes. Nonhuman primate models of focal cerebral ischemia provide excellent opportunities for understanding the vascular and cellular pathophysiology of cerebral ischemic injury, which resembles human ischemic stroke, and the appropriate study of pharmacological interventions in a human relevant setting.     

厄贝沙坦对局灶脑缺血作用的实验研究

目的：研究1型血管紧张素Ⅱ受体阻滞剂厄贝沙坦对局灶性脑缺血的神经保护作用及其可能的细胞机制。方法：在激光多谱勒脑血流监测仪对局部脑血流的监测下,应用线栓法建立大鼠大脑中动脉阻塞模型。药物经侧脑室内微泵持续灌注雄性正常血压大鼠,术后行神经功能评分,测定梗死体积,并运用免疫组化染色观察活性Caspase-3及其下游多聚ADP-核糖聚合酶（PARP）p85裂解片断的改变,结合TUNEL,比较各组细胞凋亡情况。结果：厄贝沙坦明显改善大鼠的神经功能评分,第7d的梗死体积较对照组减少了42％,用药后缺血区的TUNEL阳性细胞数．荧光标记的活性Caspase-3以及PARP p85裂解片断表达均明显减少。结论：厄贝沙坦可改善局灶脑缺血的神经功能,抑制细胞凋亡可能是其神经保护机制之一。     

Calcitonin gene-related peptide prevents blood-brain barrier injury and brain edema induced by focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion

Cerebral ischemia is one of the diseases that most compromise the human species. Therapeutic recovery of blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption represents a novel promising approach to reduce brain injury after stroke. To determine the effects of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) on the BBB participate in stroke progression, rat cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury was induced by a 2-hour left transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) using an intraluminal filament, followed by 46h of reperfusion. CGRP (1μg/ml) at the dose of 3μg/kg (i.p.) was administered at the beginning of reperfusion. Subsequently, 48h after MCAO, arterial blood pressure, infarct volume, water content, BBB permeability, BBB ultrastructure, levels of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and its mRNA were evaluated. CGRP could reduce arterial blood pressure (P<0.001), infarct volume (P<0.05), cerebral edema (P<0.01), BBB permeability (P<0.05), AQP4 mRNA expression (P<0.05) and AQP4 protein expression (P<0.01). Furthermore, CGRP treatment improved ultrastructural damage of capillary endothelium cells and decreased the loss of the tight junction observed by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) after 46h of reperfusion. Our findings show that CGRP significantly reduced postischemic increase of brain edema with a 2-hour therapeutic window in the transient model of focal cerebral ischemia. Moreover, it seems that at least part of the anti-edematous effects of CGRP is due to decrease of BBB disruption by improving ultrastructural damage of capillary endothelium cells, enhancing basal membrane, and inhibiting AQP4 and its mRNA over-expression. The data of the present study provide a new possible approach for acute stroke therapy by administration of CGRP.     

Upregulation of EMMPRIN after permanent focal cerebral ischemia

Elevated activities of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) following ischemic stroke have been shown to mediate ischemic injury as well as neurovascular remodeling. The extracellular MMP inducer (EMMPRIN) is a 58-kDa cell surface glycoprotein, which has been known to play a key regulatory role for MMP activities. The roles of EMMPRIN in stroke injury are not clearly understood. In this study, we investigated changes of EMMPRIN in a mouse model of permanent focal cerebral ischemia, and examined potential association between EMMPRIN and MMP-9 expression. Adult male CD-1 mice were subjected to permanent focal ischemia by intraluminal occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery (MCAO) under anesthesia. EMMPRIN expression was markedly upregulated in the peri-infarct area at 2-7 days after ischemia compared to the contralateral non-ischemic hemisphere by Western blot analysis. Immunofluorescent double staining demonstrated that EMMPRIN signals co-localized with vwF-positive endothelial cells and GFAP-positive peri-vascular astrocytes. In contrast, EMMPRIN signal did not co-localize with NeuN-positive neurons, or MPO-positive neutrophils. Dual fluorescent staining revealed that EMMPRIN co-localized with MMP-9. Our data also demonstrated that increased EMMPRIN expression correlated with increased MMP-9 levels in a temporal manner. In summary, we report for the first time that EMMPRIN expression was significantly increased in a mouse model of permanent focal cerebral ischemia. The spatial and temporal association between increased EMMPRIN expression and elevated MMP-9 levels suggest that EMMPRIN may modulate MMP-9 activity, and participate in neurovascular remodeling after ischemic stroke.     

Effect of Sargentodoxa cuneata total phenolic acids on focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury rats model

Objective

Explore the possible protective effect of Sargentodoxa cuneata total phenolic acids on cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury rats.

Model development and behavioral assessment of focal cerebral ischemia in rats

Stroke in humans is usually focal and occurs in the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) distribution. There are several rat models that mimic strokes clinically seen in human. Severity of ischemia can be determined by occlusion time, arteries occluded i.e. MCA alone or combined with one or both Common Carotid Arteries (CCA), and/or location of the occlusion. In this study three focal cerebral infarctions (stroke) were induced for 90 and 120 minutes due to the occlusion of: the MCA alone (MCAo); MCA plus unilateral CCA (MCAo+1CCAo); and MCA plus bilateral CCA (MCAo+2CCAo). Histological parameters included infarct lesion size and hemispheric swelling. Since functional recovery of clinical deficits in stroke often correlates with the efficacy of anti-ischemic therapy, we focused on the behavioral recovery. We combined many sources to obtain comprehensive guidelines for clinical behavior evaluation. Tests included limb flexion, torso twisting, circling, lateral push resistance, beam balancing and walking, hindlimb placing, and inverted angle-board gripping. Occlusion lasting 90 minutes was found to have consistent and repeatable deficits. Results from our study demonstrate 120 minutes of occlusion produced a 60% morality rate and was therefore dropped. Body weight changes between groups showed that increased occlusion time produced more weight loss. Behavior changes indicated that MCAo+2CCAo for 90 minutes demonstrated assessable and consistent clinical deficits for the screening of potential therapeutics.     

L-丝氨酸对大鼠脑缺血/再灌注损伤保护作用时间窗的实验研究

目的：研究L-丝氨酸对大鼠脑缺血/再灌注损伤保护作用的时间窗,并对其作用机制进行初探。方法：SD雄性大鼠随机分为假手术组、对照组、L-丝氨酸3h治疗组、6h治疗组、12h治疗组、24h治疗组。采用大脑中动脉栓塞（MCAO）建立大鼠局灶性脑缺血模型,2h后拔出栓线形成再灌注,各组分别于术后相应的时间点给予L-丝氨酸200mg/kg腹腔注射2次,对照组注射等剂量的生理盐水,所有动物再灌注后48h观测神经行为学评分、脑梗死体积。另取假手术组、对照组、L-丝氨酸6h治疗组,分别测定MCAO后脑内超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性、丙二醛（MDA）含量,炎症细胞因子TNF-α、IL-6水平以及观察细胞超微结构改变。结果：与对照组相比,术后3h、6h给予L-丝氨酸治疗能显著降低大鼠神经行为学评分,减少脑梗死体积（P〈0.01或P〈0.05）,12h仅能降低神经行为学评分（P〈0.05）,而24h与对照组间均无差异;L-丝氨酸能提高MCAO后脑内SOD活性,降低MDA以及TNF-α、IL-6的水平,同时改善细胞超微结构。结论：在一定时间窗内,L-丝氨酸对大鼠MCAO具有明显的神经保护作用,其机制可能与降低氧自由基损伤,减轻炎症反应有关。     

Caveolin-1 regulates nitric oxide-mediated matrix metalloproteinases activity and blood-brain barrier permeability in focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury

The roles of caveolin-1 (cav-1) in regulating blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability are unclear yet. We previously reported that cav-1 was down-regulated and the production of nitric oxide (NO) induced the loss of cav-1 in focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury. The present study aims to address whether the loss of cav-1 impacts on BBB permeability and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) activity during cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. We found that focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion down-regulated the expression of cav-1 in isolated cortex microvessels, hippocampus, and cortex of ischemic brain. The down-regulation of cav-1 was correlated with the increased MMP-2 and -9 activities, decreased tight junction (TJ) protein zonula occludens (ZO)-1 expression and enhanced BBB permeability. Treatment of N(G) -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester [L-NAME, a non-selective nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor] reserved the expression of cav-1, inhibited MMPs activity, and reduced BBB permeability. To elucidate the roles of cav-1 in regulating MMPs and BBB permeability, we used two approaches including cav-1 knockdown in cultured brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) in vitro and cav-1 knockout (KO) mice in vivo. Cav-1 knockdown remarkably increased MMPs activity in BMECs. Meanwhile, with focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, cav-1 deficiency mice displayed higher MMPs activities and BBB permeability than wild-type mice. Interestingly, the effects of L-NAME on MMPs activity and BBB permeability was partly reversed in cav-1 deficiency mice. These results, when taken together, suggest that cav-1 plays important roles in regulating MMPs activity and BBB permeability in focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury. The effects of L-NAME on MMPs activity and BBB permeability are partly mediated by preservation of cav-1.