title: Expression of Toll-like receptor 4 in the basilar artery after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage in rabbits: a preliminary study.
abstract: Inflammation and immunity play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Recently, a growing body of evidence indicates that Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 is vital for inflammation and immunity. Therefore, this study aimed to detect the expression of TLR4 in the basilar artery in a rabbit SAH model and to clarify the potential role of TLR4 in cerebral vasospasm. A total of 48 rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: control group; day 3, day 5, and day 7 groups. Day 3, day 5, and day 7 groups were all SAH groups. The animals in day 3, day 5 and day 7 groups were subjected to injection of autologous blood into cisterna magna twice on day 0 and day 2 and were killed on days 3, 5, and 7, respectively. Cross-sectional area of basilar artery was measured and the TLR4 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. The basilar arteries exhibited vasospasm after SAH and became more severe on day 3 and 5. The elevated expression of TLR4 was detected after SAH and peaked on day 3 and 5. TLR4 is increasingly expressed in a parallel time course to the development of cerebral vasospasm in a rabbit experimental model of SAH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Meng-liang
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ya-suo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Fei-fan
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chun-hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.forename: Han-dong
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hui-lin
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Hong-xia
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Ji-xin
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000378:metabolism*