title: Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Model of Stroke in Rodents: A Step-by-Step Approach.
abstract: Stroke is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developed countries and an immense amount of medical care resources are devoted to combat the poststroke debilitating consequences. The key to develop effective and clinically applicable treatment methodologies is a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease, including the root causes and targets for pharmacology. Developing these foundations requires the use of standard animal models that mimic the physicochemical process of the diseases that can reliably replicate results in order to test and fine-tune therapeutic modalities. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), endothelin-1-induced ischemic stroke, photothrombosis, devascularization, embolization, and spontaneous infarction using hemorrhage are some examples of different animal models. Reliability of MCAO has been proved and due to the ability to induce reperfusion similar to tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) therapy, this model is widely used in preclinical studies. Here, we describe a detailed methodology on how to develop MCAO stroke in rodents using intra-arterial insertion of filament to occlude the middle cerebral artery. This approach allows for the study of a wide array of basic pathophysiology mechanisms, regenerative medicine and rehabilitation therapy.
authors.affiliation: These coauthors are considered as first author in this study; Department of Neurosurgery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahjouei
authors.affiliation: These coauthors are considered as first author in this study; Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Peter Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ansari
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Sharareh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharififar
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Neural Stem Cell and Regenerative Neuroscience Laboratory, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Azari
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ganji
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zand
keywords: Animal model; middle cerebral artery; occlusion; stroke