title: Diazoxide and dimethyl sulphoxide prevent cerebral hypoperfusion-related learning dysfunction and brain damage after carotid artery occlusion.
abstract: Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, a mild ischemic condition is associated with advancing age and severity of dementia; however, no unanimous therapy has been established to alleviate related neurological symptoms. We imposed a permanent, bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries of rats (n=18) to create cerebral hypoperfusion. A mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ channel opener diazoxide (DZ, 5 mg/kg) or its solvent dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) were administered i.p. (0.25 ml) on five consecutive days after surgery. Sham-operated animals (n=18) served as control for the surgery, while nontreated rats were used as control for the treatments. Three months after the onset of cerebral hypoperfusion, the rats were tested in a hippocampus-related learning paradigm, the Morris water maze. Subsequently, the animals were sacrificed and neurons, astrocytes and microglia were labeled with immunocytochemistry in the dorsal hippocampus. DMSO and diazoxide dissolved in DMSO restored cerebral hypoperfusion-related learning dysfunction and prevented cyclooxygenase-2-positive neuron loss in the dentate gyrus. Cerebral hypoperfusion led to reduced astrocyte proliferation, which was not clearly affected by the treatment. Microglia activation was considerably enhanced by cerebral hypoperfusion, which was completely prevented by diazoxide dissolved in DMSO, but not by DMSO alone. We conclude that diazoxide can moderate ischemia-related neuroinflammation by suppressing microglial activation. Furthermore, we suggest that DMSO is a neuroprotective chemical in ischemic conditions, and it must be considerately used as a solvent for water-insoluble compounds in experimental animal models.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Szeged, P.O. Box 427, Szeged 6701, Hungary. farkase@anat-fm.szote.u-szeged.hu
authors.forename: Eszter
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.forename: Adám
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Institóris
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Domoki
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mihály
authors.forename: Paul G M
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Luiten
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D039481:CD11b Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D003981:Diazoxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D017628:Microglia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D039481:CD11b Antigen; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D007527:Isoenzymes; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D003981:Diazoxide; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide