Transient focal ischemia increases endothelial nitric oxide synthase in cerebral blood vessels.
OBJECTIVE
Production of NO by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) plays a protective role in cerebral ischemia. We studied the effects of transient focal ischemia on eNOS expression.


METHODS
Wistar rats (n=72) underwent reversible filament occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 75 minutes. After 6, 24, 72, or 168 hours of reperfusion, brains were removed and coronal sections cut for eNOS immunohistochemistry, eNOS-alkaline phosphatase costaining, and hematoxylin-eosin staining. Samples for eNOS immunoblots were taken from corresponding striatum and overlying parietal cortex bilaterally.


RESULTS
eNOS protein occurred in virtually all blood vessels and was consistently increased in microvessels in the ischemic striatum after 24 to 168 hours of reperfusion but not at 6 hours. eNOS upregulation in the parietal cortex was only present in animals with evidence of cortical infarcts documented on adjacent HE-stained sections. Costaining of endogenous alkaline phosphatase and eNOS demonstrated eNOS expression in all segments of cerebral microvessels. Quantitative analysis of eNOS immunostaining and immunoblots showed no attenuated increase in animals that were treated with indomethacin (5 mg/kg IP), NS398 (20 mg/kg IP), or L-arginine-methyl ester (10 mg/kg IP). In contrast to eNOS, levels of brain NOS did not increase after ischemia.


CONCLUSIONS
eNOS protein is upregulated in pre- and postcapillary microvessels and upregulation appears slower after transient compared with permanent ischemia. Cyclooxygenase and NOS products do not play a major role in postischemic eNOS induction.
Veltkamp
Roland
R
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Center for Investigative Neuroscience, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. roland_veltkamp@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Rajapakse
Nishadi
N
Robins
Greg
G
Puskar
Michelle
M
Shimizu
Katsuyoshi
K
Busija
David
D
D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000098:blood supply / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015854:Up-Regulation
D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; C496322:Nos1 protein, rat; C496316:Nos3 protein, rat