Temporary focal ischemia in the mouse: technical aspects and patterns of Fluoro-Jade evident neurodegeneration.
Animal models of cerebral infarction are crucial to understanding the mechanisms of neuronal survival following ischemic brain injury and to the development of therapeutic interventions for victims of all types of stroke. Rodents have been used extensively in such research. One rodent model of stroke utilizes either permanent or temporary occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO) to produce ischemia. Since the development of an endovascular method for this was published in 1989, MCAO has been applied commonly to the rat, and often paired with 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining for stroke volume measurement. Meanwhile, advances in the ability to genetically alter mice have allowed exciting lines of research into ischemia. Because of technical demands and issues with survival, relatively few laboratories have investigated the MCAO method in the mouse. Our present work utilizes a mouse middle cerebral occlusion (MCAO) model of embolic stroke to study neuronal degeneration following temporary focal cerebral ischemia. C57Bl/6J mice were used to examine the exact effects of MCAO using Fluoro-Jade, a marker of neurodegeneration that allows observation of specific brain regions and cells destined to die. A time course of escalating neuronal degeneration from 10 min to 7 days following MCAO was established. Technical aspects of this popular method for transient focal ischemia as it applies to the mouse are discussed.
Duckworth
Edward A M
EA
Department of Neurosurgery, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
Butler
Tanya L
TL
De Mesquita
Dirson
D
Collier
Shane N
SN
Collier
Lisa
L
Pennypacker
Keith R
KR
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology; D016923:Cell Death; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005452:Fluoresceins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000032:analysis; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors
D015415:Biomarkers; D005452:Fluoresceins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; C435731:fluoro jade; C009591:triphenyltetrazolium