Critical differences between two classical surgical approaches for middle cerebral artery occlusion-induced stroke in mice.
BACKGROUND
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability in North America. On average, someone in the US has a stroke every 45 s, and worldwide, stroke claims 15 million lives each year. Therefore, reliable stroke models are vital to the production of effective new therapies for the treatment of this devastating cerebral vascular accident.


METHODS
Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) is considered to be the most clinically relevant surgical model of ischemic stroke, in which a variety of methods may be employed to block the MCA (the most common being through insertion of a monofilament). In this study, we have compared two different approaches that are currently used arbitrarily in various laboratories worldwide: one involving insertion of a monofilament via the common carotid artery (Koizumi et al.) and one via the external carotid artery (Longa et al.).
We assessed various parameters, including: mortality rates, neurological scores, inflammation levels, cellular trafficking (using intravital microscopy) and infarct volumes in mice after using each of the two approaches. We found that the Longa method produced a greater, and robust, inflammatory response, versus the Koizumi method.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, we suggest that the Longa method is superior for the study of both short and long-term outcomes of ischemic stroke. These results have considerable implications on stroke model selection for researchers.
Molecular and Cellular Physiology Department, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, USA.
Helen K
HK
Smith
Molecular and Cellular Physiology Department, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, USA.
Janice M
JM
Russell
Molecular and Cellular Physiology Department, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, USA.
D Neil
DN
Granger
Molecular and Cellular Physiology Department, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, USA. Electronic address: fgavin@lsuhsc.edu.
Felicity N E
FN
Gavins
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
Acute stroke; Animal models; Inflammation; Microcirculation; Physiology