title: Neuronal vulnerability of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats to ischemia and its prevention with antioxidants such as vitamin E.
abstract: Stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP/Izm) develop severe hypertension, and more than 95% of them die of cerebral stroke. Hypoxic stimulation followed by oxygen reperfusion induces neuronal damage in both normotensive Wistar Kyoto/Izm (WKY/Izm) and SHRSP/Izm rats, and the percentage of neurons that undergo apoptosis during hypoxia-reperfusion is markedly higher in SHRSP/Izm rats than in WKY/Izm rats. The biochemical characteristics of the SHRSP/Izm rats, unlike those of WKY/Izm rats, might act as a factor in the stroke proneness of SHRSP/Izm rats. In the hippocampus, the formation of hydroxyl radicals and the cerebral blood flow-independent formation of nitric oxide (NO) were strongly increased after reperfusion in SHRSP/Izm rats, and the neuronal expression of the thioredoxin and Bcl-2 genes was significantly decreased in the SHRSP/Izm rats compared with the WKY/Izm rats. On the other hand, the effects of antioxidants against neuronal death associated with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion were stronger in the SHRSP/Izm rats, in which the addition of vitamin E or ebselen almost completely inhibited neuronal death. Namely, the addition of 100 microg/ml of vitamin E under hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) conditions completely inhibited WKY and SHRSP/Izm neuronal death. Vitamin E exerts a marked inhibitory effect against neuronal damage via its incorporation into mitochondrial membranes, where it captures reactive oxygen and free radicals. The susceptibility of neurons to apoptosis in SHRSP/Izm rats is partly due to an insufficiency of mitochondrial redox regulation and apoptosis-inhibitory proteins. In this review, we describe the neuronal vulnerability of SHRSP/Izm rats induced by cerebral ischemia and the effects of antioxidants such as vitamin E.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Bioscience and Biotechnology, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa-shi, Japan. kyamagat@brs.nihon-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamagata
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tagami
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamori
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020521:Stroke / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D014810:Vitamin E