The effect of ischemic post-conditioning on hippocampal cell apoptosis following global brain ischemia in rats.
We evaluated the effect of brain ischemic post-conditioning on cell apoptosis in the hippocampus following global brain ischemia in rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups (n=15/group): sham operation, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and ischemic post-conditioning (I PostC). Global brain ischemia was induced by four-vessel occlusion. Ischemic post-conditioning consisted of six cycles of 10s/10s reperfusion/reocclusion at the onset of reperfusion. All rats were sacrificed 24 hours or 72 hours after reperfusion. The hippocampal CA1 regions were analysed using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated biotinylated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labelling (Tunel) staining technique for determining cell apoptosis. Levels of caspase-3 and Bcl-2 were measured by Western blotting. After 72 hours, fewer Tunel-positive brain cells were observed in rats from the I PostC group than in rats from the I/R group (10.3 ± 2.7% versus 40.8 ± 6.2%, p<0.01). After reperfusion at 24 hours and 72 hours, expression of caspase-3 in the I PostC group was significantly decreased (p<0.01) and expression of Bcl-2 in the I PostC group was significantly increased (p<0.01) compared with the I/R group. We conclude that down-regulation of caspase-3 and up-regulation of Bcl-2 by ischemic post-conditioning may underlie the protective effects of post-conditioning.
Department of Neurosurgery, Yuyao People's Hospital, Zhejiang Province 315400, China.
Weiqiao
W
Zhang
Baofeng
B
Wang
Sanquan
S
Zhou
Yongming
Y
Qiu
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D056547:CA1 Region, Hippocampal / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D057775:Ischemic Postconditioning; D008297:Male; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D053148:Caspase 3