title: Modeling stroke in mice: permanent coagulation of the distal middle cerebral artery.
abstract: Stroke is the third most common cause of death and a main cause of acquired adult disability in developed countries. Only very limited therapeutical options are available for a small proportion of stroke patients in the acute phase. Current research is intensively searching for novel therapeutic strategies and is increasingly focusing on the sub-acute and chronic phase after stroke because more patients might be eligible for therapeutic interventions in a prolonged time window. These delayed mechanisms include important pathophysiological pathways such as post-stroke inflammation, angiogenesis, neuronal plasticity and regeneration. In order to analyze these mechanisms and to subsequently evaluate novel drug targets, experimental stroke models with clinical relevance, low mortality and high reproducibility are sought after. Moreover, mice are the smallest mammals in which a focal stroke lesion can be induced and for which a broad spectrum of transgenic models are available. Therefore, we describe here the mouse model of transcranial, permanent coagulation of the middle cerebral artery via electrocoagulation distal of the lenticulostriatal arteries, the so-called "coagulation model". The resulting infarct in this model is located mainly in the cortex; the relative infarct volume in relation to brain size corresponds to the majority of human strokes. Moreover, the model fulfills the above-mentioned criteria of reproducibility and low mortality. In this video we demonstrate the surgical methods of stroke induction in the "coagulation model" and report histological and functional analysis tools.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, University Hospital Munich; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy).
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Llovera
authors.affiliation: Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, University Hospital Munich; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy).
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.affiliation: Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, University Hospital Munich; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy).
authors.forename: Nikolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Plesnila
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Heidelberg; Imperial College, Charing Cross Hospital.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Veltkamp
authors.affiliation: Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, University Hospital Munich; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy); Arthur.Liesz@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liesz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D001778:Blood Coagulation Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D020521:Stroke / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology