Fine structural nature of delayed neuronal death following ischemia in the gerbil hippocampus

Summary An unusual, delayed neuronal death (DND) has been noticed in the hippocampus of the Mongolian gerbil following brief ischemia (Kirino 1982). On day 1 following 5–10min of ischemia, light microscopy showed the CA1 pyramidal cells unchanged. On day 2, the cells showed massive growth of membranous cytoplasmic organelles instead of overt cellular disintegration. These neurons were destroyed extensively by day 4 after ischemic insult. Following longer ischemia (20–30min), however, the changes in the CA1 pyramidal cells appeared faster and resembled the wellcharacterized ischemic cell change (ICC). To further clarify the differences between ICC and DND, gerbils were submitted to transient 5–30min ischemia. They were perfusion-fixed following a given survival period and then processed for electron microscopy. Following transient ischemia, specimens showed slow cell changes with growth of cisterns of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In some CA1 neurons, the cytoplasm was shrunken and darkly stained, but they also displayed accumulation of ER cisterns. Occasionally, the CA1 cells demonstrated highly shrunken dark perikarya, no different than in ICC. These results indicate that DND seems to be the typical disease process of the CA1 sector and that a severer insult makes the change faster and more similar to ICC. ICC seems to occur when the CA1 pyramidal cells are damaged so severely that they cannot react with proliferous activity.     

Re-evaluation of ischemia-induced neuronal damage in hippocampal regions in the normothermic gerbil

Summary It has not been discussed whether transient forebrain ischemia of 5-min duration, which is a model frequently used to evaluate pharmacological protection against ischemic injury, is an optimal model in the CA1 field of this animal whose brain temperature is maintained at normothermic levels. The temperature of the brain during an ischemic insult strongly affects the extent of the resulting neuronal injury. If the brain temperature is not regulated, it usually falls in the gerbil by 2°–4°C during 5-min ischemia. However, the brain temperature during ischemic insult was not regulated in many previous studies. In the present study, the effects of transient (1 to 5 min) forebrain ischemia on the development of neuronal degeneration in hippocampal regions of the gerbil whose brain temperature was maintained at 37°C were examined. In the CA1 field of the hippocampus, transient ischemia of 3- and 4-min duration caused almost the same maximal damage (88%–91% neuronal loss) as observed in the gerbils subjected to 5-min ischemia. Transient ischemia of 2-and 2.5-min duration provoked substantial neuronal damage in 25% and 55% of experimental gerbils, respectively. These results indicate that 5-min bilateral forebrain ischemia is more than is necessary to examine ischemiainduced neuronal degeneration in hippocampal CA1 field of the gerbil whose brain temperature is maintained at normothermic levels. In the normothermic gerbil brain, an ischemic period of 3-min already induces extensive neuronal death in the CA1 and, thus, constitutes a sensitive model to evaluate faint protective effects of drugs against ischemic injury in the normothermic gerbil.Supported by Grant-in-Aid for Encouragement of Young Scientist (03857019) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan and the Sasakawa Health Science Foundation to A.M., and Grants-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (01400004 and 03557007) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan, Japan Foundation for Aging and Health and Mitsui Life Social Welfare Foundation to K.K.     

Regional impairment of protein synthesis following brief cerebral ischemia in the gerbil

Summary Regional cerebral protein synthesis following brief ischemia was investigated in the Mongolian gerbil, utilizing l-[methyl-¹⁴C]methionine autoradiography. Transient ischemia was induced for 1,2 or 3 min. At various recirculation periods up to 48 h, animals received a single dose of l-[methyl-¹⁴C]-methionine and then were terminated 35 min later. Sham-operated animals showed a normal pattern of amino acid incorporation into the proteins of the brain. Following 1-min ischemia, the pattern of protein synthesis was similar to that in the sham-operated gerbils. Ischemia for 2 min, however, caused marked inhibition of protein synthesis in the neocortex, striatum, hippocampal CA1 sector and the thalamus at 1 h of recirculation. Extensive recovery of protein synthesis was found in the neocortex, the striatum, the hippocampal CA1 sector and the thalamus at 5–24 h of recirculation, but, a slight inhibition was detectable in the hippocampal CA1 sector in one of six animals. This inhibition had fully recovered at 48 h of recirculation. Following 3-min ischemia, severe impairment of protein synthesis was found in the neocortex, striatum, the whole hippocampus and the thalamus. After 5–24 h of recirculation, the protein synthesis in these regions had gradually recovered, except that complete lack of amino acid incorporation was seen in the hippocampal CA1 subfield. This impairment of protein synthesis in the hippocampal CA1 sector was not recovered at 48h of recirculation. Morphological study indicated that 2-min ischemia did not produce any significant neuronal damage in the brain, whereas gerbils subjected to 3-min ischemia revealed a mild neuronal damage in the hippocampal CA1 sector. The present study indicates that even non-lethal ischemia can produce a severe inhibition of protein synthesis in the selectively vulnerable regions during the early stage of recirculation.     

Selective neuronal vulnerability following transient cerebral ischemia in the gerbil: distribution and time course

An important feature of ischemic brain damage is the selective vulnerability of specific neuronal populations. We studied the distribution and time course of neuronal damage following transient cerebral ischemia in the gerbil, using light microscopy and 45Ca autoradiography. Following 5 min of ischemia, selective neuronal damage determined by abnormal 45Ca accumulation was recognized only in the hippocampal CA1 subfield and part of the inferior colliculus. Ischemia for 10 to 15 min caused extensive neuronal injury in the 3rd and 5th layers of neocortex, the striatum, the septum, the whole hippocampus, the thalamus, the medial geniculate body, the substantia nigra, and the inferior colliculus. Progression of the damage was rapid in the medial geniculate body and the inferior colliculus, moderate in the neocortex, striatum, septum, thalamus, and the substantia nigra, and was delayed in the hippocampal CA1 sector. However, the delayed damage of the hippocampus occurred earlier when the ischemia period was prolonged. Histological observation revealed neuronal loss in the identical sites of the 45Ca accumulation. This study revealed that the distribution and time course of selective neuronal damage by ischemia proceeded with different order of susceptibility and different speed of progression.     

Effect of transient cerebral ischemia on γ-aminobutyric acidA receptor α1-subunit–immunoreactive interneurons in the gerbil CA1 hippocampus

Following transient cerebral ischemia, pyramidal cells within area CA1 of the hippocampus exhibit delayed neuronal death. While interneurons within this sector continue to survive long-term, there is evidence that some interneurons in area CA1 are vulnerable to damage. To determine the nature of vulnerability in a neurochemically heterogeneous population of interneurons throughout area CA1, we examined the labeling of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic interneurons with an antibody to the GABA_A receptor α₁-subunit 1–35 days following cerebral ischemia in the Mongolian gerbil. Unlike some other GABA interneuron markers, this antibody labels both the dendrites and soma of interneurons, allowing dendritic structure to be examined. Three to four days following ischemia, the pyramidal cells in area CA1 had degenerated, and the α₁-subunit–positive interneurons in all layers of area CA1 had developed severely beaded dendrites. At longer survival times (21–35 days), the α₁-subunit–immunolabeled dendrites of these interneurons had a fragmented appearance. In contrast, interneurons bordering str. oriens and alveus typically exhibited normal dendritic morphology. Despite the pathologic changes, there was no evidence of interneuron loss in area CA1 up to 35 days post-ischemia. Normal interneuron morphology was also observed in area CA3 and dentate gyrus, regions where neither pyramidal neurons nor granule cells, respectively, die following 5 min of cerebral ischemia. To determine if the ischemia-induced changes in interneuron morphology could be prevented, diazepam was administered 30 and 90 min following ischemia. Diazepam produces long-term neuroprotection of area CA1 pyramidal neurons. In gerbils sacrificed 35 days after ischemia, diazepam markedly attenuated the dendritic beading of the area CA1 interneurons. In addition, the dendrites did not display the fragmented labeling by the α₁-subunit antibody. Thus, despite their long-term survival, CA1 hippocampal interneurons in the gerbil can express severe structural abnormalities after transient cerebral ischemia coincident with pyramidal cell degeneration, and the injury to the dendrites can be prevented by the neuroprotectant diazepam. Hippocampus 1997; 7:511–523. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Differential expressions of glycine transporter 1 and three glutamate transporter mRNA in the hippocampus of gerbils with transient forebrain ischemia.

The extracellular concentrations of glutamate and its co-agonist for the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, glycine, may be under the control of amino acid transporters in the ischemic brain. However, there is little information on changes in glycine and glutamate transporters in the hippocampal CA1 field of gerbils with transient forebrain ischemia. This study investigated the spatial and temporal expressions of glycine transporter 1 (GLYT1) and three glutamate transporter (excitatory amino acid carrier 1, EAAC1; glutamate/aspartate transporter, GLAST; glutamate transporter 1, GLT1) mRNA in the gerbil hippocampus after 3 minutes of ischemia. The GLYT1 mRNA was transiently upregulated by the second day after ischemia in astrocytelike cells in close vicinity to hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons, possibly to reduce glycine concentration in the local extracellular spaces. The EAAC1 mRNA was abundantly expressed in almost all pyramidal neurons and dentate granule cells in the control gerbil hippocampus, whereas the expression level in CA1 pyramidal neurons started to decrease by the fourth day after ischemia in synchrony with degeneration of the CA1 neurons. The GLAST and GLT1 mRNA were rather intensely expressed in the dentate gyrus and CA3 field of the control hippocampus, respectively, but they were weakly expressed in the CA1 field before and after ischemia. As GLAST and GLT1 play a major role in the control of extracellular glutamate concentration, the paucity of these transporters in the CA1 field may account for the vulnerability of CA1 neurons to ischemia, provided that the functional GLAST and GLT1 proteins are also less in the CA1 field than in the CA3 field. This study suggests that the amino acid transporters play pivotal roles in the process of delayed neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 field.     

Induction of heat shock protein 72-like immunoreactivity in the hippocampal formation following transient global ischemia

Global ischemia was produced in adult rats by combining bilateral carotid artery occlusions with systemic hypotension for 5 or 10 minutes. Induction of the 72 kD heat shock protein (HSP72) in the hippocampus was examined immunocytochemically 18-24 hours later. Several patterns of HSP72-like immunoreactivity (HSP72LI) were observed. Five minutes of ischemia induced HSP72 in isolated columns of CA1a pyramidal neurons, or throughout CA1 pyramidal neurons and dentate hilar neurons. Ten minutes of ischemia induced marked HSP72LI in CA3 pyramidal neurons, moderate HSP72LI in dentate granule cells, and minimal HSP72LI in CA1 pyramidal, dentate hilar neurons, and hippocampal glia. Two hippocampi subjected to 10 minutes of ischemia exhibited marked HSP72LI in capillary endothelial cells but no neuronal or glial HSP72LI. It is proposed that (a) the induction of HSP72 in hippocampal sectors correlates with their vulnerability to global ischemia (CA1 greater than hilus greater than CA3 greater than dentate gyrus); (b) the induction of HSP72 in hippocampal cells correlates with their vulnerability to global ischemia in that mild ischemia induced HSP72 only in neurons, moderate ischemia in neurons and glia, and severe ischemia only in capillary endothelial cells; (c) the failure to induce HSP72 in hippocampal neurons in 2 cases of 10 min ischemia may be related to severe injury causing disruption of protein synthesis in these cells.     

Temporal profile of interneuron and pyramidal cell protein synthesis in rat hippocampus following cerebral ischemia

Summary Cellular protein synthesis was investigated in the rat hippocampus 2–100 h following 20 min of cerebral ischemia induced by four-vessel occlusion. [³H]-Phenylalanine was retrogradely infused through the external carotid artery for 30 min. This method limited the distribution of the tracer to one hemisphere and required 1/50th of the tracer amount used for intravenous tracer infusion. Cellular [³H]phenylalanine incorporation was examined in hematoxyline and eosin-stained sections coated with nuclear emulsion. A score for relative protein synthesis was estimated from counts of silver grains across neuron somata with undamaged morphology. Shortly after ischemia a generalized complete arrest of protein synthesis was observed. In CA1 pyramidal cells, this was followed by a transient incomplete regeneration (9–20 h) and later (46–100 h) persistent cessation of protein synthesis. By contrast protein synthesis in interneurons, CA3c pyramidal cells and granule cells recovered to preischemic levels 9–100 h after ischemia, as did the CA3ab pyramidal cells 46–100 h postischemia. Moreover, eosinophilic cell changes were seen in hilar and CA3c neurons at all postischemic stages and in CA1 pyramidal cells 46–72 h after ischemia. [³H]Phenylalanine incorporation was absent in neurons demonstrating eosinophilic cell changes. From the rapid recovery of protein synthesis in hippocampal interneurons, we conclude that changes in interneuronal protein synthesis per se are not involved in the pathophysiology of the delayed ischemic CA1 pyramidal cell death.Supported by research grants from The Danish Research Council and the Danish Biotechnology Program     

Lesions of excitatory pathways reduce hippocampal cell death after transient forebrain ischemia in the gerbil

Summary Transient forebrain ischemia produces a spatially and temporally selective pattern of neuronal degeneration in the hippocampal formation of the Mongolian gerbil. Ischemic neuronal death has been suggested to depend on the activation of excitatory hippocampal pathways that project to the vulnerable neurons. This idea was tested by examining the effect of a unilateral entorhinal cortical lesion or a unilateral knife cut lesion of intrahippocampal pathways on the neuropathology produced by 5 min of complete fore-brain ischemia. A prior lesion of either the ipsilateral entorhinal cortex or the mossy fiber and Schaffer collateral-commissural pathways partially prevented the destruction of CA1b pyramidal cells in most animals. It did not, however, reduce the extent of ischemic neuronal death in any other hippocampal subfield. Within area CA1b, an entorhinal lesion protected an average of 23% of the pyramidal cells and a transection of both mossy and Schaffer collateral-commissural fibers protected an average of 36.5%. CA1b pyramidal cells saved from ischemia-induced degeneration appeared clearly abnormal when stained with cresyl violet or by silver impregnation. It is suggested that lesions of excitatory pathways attenuate ischemic damage to area CA1b by directly or indirectly reducing the level of synaptic excitation onto the vulnerable neurons. However, only a relatively small percentage of hippocampal neurons can be protected by these lesions in the gerbil ischemia model and there is reason to believe that the neurons protected in this manner may not be electrophysiologically competent. Synaptic excitation therefore appears to play an important, but not an essential, role in this model of ischemic brain damage.Supported by NIH Stroke Center grant NS 06233     

Neuronal damage following non-lethal but repeated cerebral ischemia in the gerbil

Summary Brief, non-lethal transient forebrain ischemia in the gerbil can injure selectively vulnerable neurons when such ischemia is induced repeatedly. The influence of the number and interval of the ischemic insults on neuronal damage, as well as the time course of damage, following repeated 2-min forebrain ischemia were examined. A single 2-min forebrain ischemia were examined. A single 2-min ischemic insult caused no morphological neuronal damage. A moderate number of hippocampal CA1 neurons were destroyed following two ischemic insults with a 1-h interval, and destruction of almost all CA1 neurons resulted from three or five insults at 1-h intervals. Three and five insults also resulted in moderate to severe damage to the striatum and thalamus, depending on the number of episodes. Although three ischemic insults at 1-h intervals caused severe neuronal damage, this number of insults at 5-min and 4-h intervals caused destruction of relatively few neurons, and non neurons were destroyed at 12-h intervals. Following three ischemic insults at 1-h intervals, damage to the striatum, neocortex, hippocampal CA4 subfield and thalamus was observed at 6–24 h of survival, whereas damage to the hippocampal CA1 subfield appeared at 2–4 days. The results indicate that even a brief non-lethal ischemic insult can produce severe neuronal damage in selectively vulnerable regions when it is induced repeatedly at a certain interval. The severity of neuronal damage was dependent on the number and interval of ischemic episodes.     

Chronic maintenance of presynaptic terminals in gliotic hippocampus following ischemia

Following brief cerebral ischemia, neurons are selectively damaged and die, whereas glial cells and blood vessels survive. This phenomenon of selective vulnerability is well illustrated in the hippocampal CA1 region. Five min of forebrain ischemia in the Mongolian gerbil produced selective neuronal necrosis in the hippocampal CA1 sector. After destruction and loss of CA1 neurons, a remarkable glial reaction (gliosis) was seen. The thickness of the CA1 subfield remained unchanged until 1 month after ischemia and then gradually shrank over several months. Ultrastructural observation of this region revealed persistent maintenance of presynaptic structures. Numerous presynaptic terminals containing synaptic vesicles were scattered throughout the gliotic scar tissue. These presynaptic terminals were apposed to degenerative structures which seemed most likely to be remnants of dendrites. In another group of animals, at one month following ischemic damage in the CA1 sector, the CA3 neurons were destroyed by kainic acid injection. In these animals, numerous degenerating presynaptic boutons were seen in the CA1 sector when fixed 4 days following kainate injection. These results indicate that even in gliotic tissue, presynaptic terminals can survive and maintain their structural characteristics although neuronal cell bodies are almost absent.     

The role of early Ca influx in the pathogenesis of delayed neuronal death after brief forebrain ischemia in gerbils

To examine the role of calcium influx in the early phase after brief forebrain ischemia and subsequent delayed neuronal cell death in the hippocampus,⁴⁵Ca autoradiography and electron microscopic cytochemistry, by a combined oxalate-pyroantimonate method, were carried out in gerbil brains after 5 min bilateral common carotid arterial occlusion. Further, neuronal during the ischemic and postischemic periods was determined by conventional or immunohistochemical staining for microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) with and without calcium-entry blockers.⁴⁵Ca autoradiography showed a high peak of calcium in the hippocampus at 5 min of recirculation. Electron cytochemical microscopy also demonstrated accumulation of intracellular calcium pyroantimonate deposits in the neuronal cells in all regions. At 30 min of reperfusion, amounts of calcium in the hippocampus returned to the control levels, and intracellular dense calcium pyroantimonate deposits were reduced in these areas. Loss of the reaction for MAP2 was noted in the medial CA1 of the hippocampus immediately after 5 min ischemia and at 5 and 30 min after reperfusion. MK-801 (10 mg kg⁻¹, anN-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, injected intraperitoneally 1 h before ischemia, suppressed the early increase of calcium in the forebrain and neuronal cell necrosis in the CA1. However, neither injection of MK-801 30 min after reperfusion nor preischemic treatment with 0.5 mg kg⁻¹ Nicardipine, voltage-sensitive calcium channel antagonists, prevented neuronal death. In immunohistochemical staining for MAP2, the ischemic lesion in the medial CA1 maintained after 5 min ischemia and the subsequent early reperfusion period in the untreated brains was protected by the preischemic injection of 10 mg kg⁻¹ MK-801, but was not restored by the injection of 0.5 mg kg⁻¹ Nimodipine or 1 mg kg⁻¹ Nicardipine. In conclusion, it is suggested that an early excess of calcium influx could be caused mainly by excitatory amino acid overload through NMDA receptor-mediated calcium channels during the ischemic and early postischemic periods.     

Brain lactate uptake increases at the site of impact after traumatic brain injury

Neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 subregion has been shown to occur in a delayed manner after transient global ischemia. The 2-vessel occlusion model is one of the most frequently used global ischemia paradigms in rodents. Although researchers often fail to induce bilateral delayed CA1 neuronal death, the importance of hypotension severity has not been fully discussed. We induced 10 min of global ischemia with 2-vessel occlusion and various severities of hypotension in rats, and the subsequent neuronal damage and neurogenesis in the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell layer were immunohistochemically studied. Neuronal apoptosis after global ischemia was also characterized by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated uridine 5′-triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL). The mean arterial blood pressure of 31-35 mmHg was the most appropriate range of hypotension in this model because of low mortality and consistent bilateral CA1 injury. Most of the neurons in the CA1 pyramidal cell layer lost neuron specific nuclear protein and became TUNEL-positive 3 days after ischemia. There was no evidence of apoptosis or neurogenesis at 7-28 days. There were ischemia-tolerant neurons in the CA1 pyramidal cell layer that survived delayed neurodegeneration, however, further studies are necessary to characterize the property of these neurons.     

Autoradiographic localization of N-type VGCCs in gerbil hippocampus and failure of omega-conotoxin MVIIA to attenuate neuronal injury after transient cerebral ischemia.

In the mammalian central nervous system, transient global ischemia of specific duration causes selective degeneration of CA1 pyramidal neurons in hippocampus. Many of the ischemia-induced pathophysiologic cascades that destroy the neurons are triggered by pre- and postsynaptic calcium entry. Consistent with this, many calcium channel blockers have been shown to be neuroprotective in global models of ischemia. omega-Conotoxin MVIIA, a selective N-type VGCC blocker isolated from the venom of Conus magus, protects CA1 neurons in the rat model of global ischemia, albeit transiently. The mechanism by which this peptide renders neuroprotection is unknown. We performed high-resolution receptor autoradiography with the radiolabeled peptide and observed highest binding in stratum lucidum of CA3 subfield, known to contain inhibitory neurons potentially important in the pathogenesis of delayed neuronal death. This finding suggested that the survival of stratum lucidum inhibitory neurons might be the primary event, leading to CA1 neuroprotection after ischemia. Testing of this hypothesis required the reproduction of its neuroprotective effects in the gerbil model of global ischemia. Surprisingly, we found that omega-MVIIA did not attenuate CA1 hippocampal injury after 5 min of cerebral ischemia in gerbil. Possible reasons are discussed. Lastly, we show that the peptide can be used as a synaptic marker in assessing short and long-term changes that occur in hippocampus after ischemic injury.     

Delayed neuronal death in the gerbil hippocampus following ischemia

In the CA1 subfield of the gerbil hippocampus, an unusual series of changes were noticed after ischemia. Mongolian gerbils were subjected to bilateral carotid occlusion for 5 min. Perfusion fixation was performed 3, 6 and 12 h or 1, 2, 4, 7 and 21 days afterwards. Specimens obtained from the dorsal hippocampus were processed for light and electron microscopy. Three different types of changes were observed in the CA4, CA2 and CA1 subfields. In CA4, the change was rapid and corresponded to ischemic cell change. The alteration in CA2 was relatively slow, and identical to what has been called reactive change. On the contrary, the change in the CA1 pyramidal cells was very slow, only becoming apparent by light microscopy 2 days following ischemia. The CA1 subfield was selected for electron microscopic observation. The lamellar alignment of proliferated cisterns of the endoplasmic reticulum was the most conspicuous finding in these cells. Four days following ischemia, almost all of the pyramidal cells in CA1 were destroyed. In the CA1 neuropil, numerous presynaptic terminals remained without being apposed to normal postsynaptic sites. These changes in CA1, called here ‘delayed neuronal death’, may differ from those thought to be typical of ischemic neuronal damage. It was unlikely that the disturbance of local blood vessels was the cause of these changes.     

Regulation of ischemic hippocampal damage in the gerbil: adrenalectomy alters the rate of CA1 cell disappearance

Adrenalectomy protects hippocampal pyramidal cells from transient ischemia in rats. We hypothesized that this effect of adrenalectomy could be generalized to the gerbil. We determined the effect of glucocorticoid manipulation on hippocampal CA1 cell death following transient forebrain ischemia in the gerbil. Adrenalectomy diminished hippocampal damage when performed immediately following transient forebrain ischemia, as in the rat, while glucocorticoid administration resulted in an increase in CA1 pyramidal cell damage. Furthermore adrenalectomy 24 h after the ischemic injury diminished hippocampal damage to roughly the same extent as immediate adrenalectomy. However, if gerbils were examined at longer survival periods after ischemia, the difference in hippocampal damage between adrenalectomized and sham-adrenalectomized was lost. These findings suggest that glucocorticoids influence the rate of hippocampal pyramidal cell disappearance following ischemia. Manipulation of glucocorticoids could be an important adjunct to therapy for preventing ischemic brain damage.     

Evaluation of CA1 damage using single-voxel H-MRS and un-biased stereology: Can non-invasive measures of N-acetyl-asparate following global ischemia be used as a reliable measure of neuronal damage?

Global brain ischemia provoked by transient occlusion of the carotid arteries (2VO) in gerbils results in a severe loss of neurons in the hippocampal CA1 region. We measured the concentration of the neuron specific N-acetyl-aspartate, [NAA], in the gerbil dorsal hippocampus by proton MR spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) in situ, and HPLC, 4 days after global ischemia. The [NAA] was correlated with graded hippocampus damage scoring and stereologically determined neuronal density. A basal hippocampal [NAA] of 8.37±0.10 and 9.81±0.44 mmol/l were found from HPLC and ¹H-MRS, respectively. HPLC measurements of [NAA] obtained from hippocampus 4 days after 2VO showed a 20% reduction in the [NAA] following 4 min of ischemia (P<0.001). ¹H-MRS measurements on gerbils subjected to 4 or 8 min of ischemia showed a similar 24% decline in the [NAA] (P<0.05). Thus, there was correlation between the HPLC and ¹H-MRS determined NAA decline. There was also a significant correlation between ¹H-MRS [NAA] and the corresponding reduction in CA1 neuronal density (P<0.004). In summary our findings show that single voxel ¹H-MRS can be used as a supplement to histological evaluation of neuronal injury in studies after global brain ischemia. Accordingly, volume selective spectroscopy has a potential for assessment of neuroprotective therapeutic compounds/strategies with respect to neuronal rescue for delayed ischemic brain damage.     

Treatable ischemic neuronal damage in the gerbil hippocampus

The Mongolian gerbil is known to develop delayed neuronal death in the hippocampus following brief forebrain ischemia (Brain Res 239: 57-69). Morphological, biochemical, or electrophysiological studies on this neuronal injury have shown that neurons still retain potential reversibility at the earlier period of alteration. To examine this possibility, immediately following 5 min of ischemia in the gerbil, pentobarbital, diazepam, or nizofenone was injected. Seven days following ischemic insult, animals were perfusion fixed and neuronal density in the hippocampal CA1 subfield was counted. Most of the neurons in the CA1 sector survived ischemic insult when a drug was given, whereas most of them were lost without the treatment. The average neuronal density of treated groups showed a statistically significant (p less than 0.01) persistence compared with that of control group. The effective dosage of the drugs were 20-40 mg/kg in pentobarbital, 10-20 mg/kg in diazepam, and 12.5-25 mg/kg in nizofenone. On the other hand, when pentobarbital was injected 1 hr following ischemia, while neurons still remain intact morphologically, it showed no effect. This result indicates that the neuronal damage of "delayed neuronal death" type is reversible if treatment is instituted at an early period of cell change.     

Postischemic inhibition of GABA reuptake by tiagabine slows neuronal death in the gerbil hippocampus

The neuroprotective effects of enhancing neuronal inhibition with a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) uptake inhibitor were studied in gerbil hippocampus following transient ischemia. We used in vivo microdialysis to determine a suitable dosing regimen for tiagabine (NNC 328) to elevate extracellular levels of GABA within the hippocampus. In anesthetized (normothermic) gerbils, tiagabine (45 mg/kg, i. p.) selectively elevated extracellular GABA levels 450% in area CA1 of the hippocampus. In gerbils subjected to cerebral ischemia via 5-min bilateral carotid occlusion, extracellular GABA levels increased 13-fold in area CA1, returning to baseline within 30–45 min. When tiagabine was injected 10 min following onset of reperfusion, GABA levels remained elevated (200–470%) for 90 min. In addition, tiagabine significantly reduced the ischemic-induced elevation of glutamate levels in area CA1 during the postischemic period when GABA levels were elevated. There was no effect of postischemic tiagabine on aspartate or six other amino acids. Using the same dosing regimen, we evaluated the degree of neuroprotection in the hippocampus of gerbils 4 and 21 days after ischemia. Tiagabine decreased body temperature a maximum of 2.7°C beginning 30 min into reperfusion and lasting 90 min. In untreated gerbils sacrificed 4 and 21 days after ischemia, there was severe necrosis (99%) of the pyramidal cell layer in area CA1. Whereas tiagabine significantly protected the CA1 pyramidal cell layer in ischemic gerbils at 4 days (overt necrosis confined to about 17% of area CA1), the protection diminished significantly 21 days postischemia. When normothermia was maintained both during and after ischemia in a separate group of tiagabine-treated animals, approximately 77% of the CA1 pyramidal cell layer was necrotic at 4 days. Based on these findings, we suggest that (1) tiagabine slows the development of hippocampal degeneration following ischemia, and (2) that mild, postischemic hypothermia is responsible, in large part, for the neuroprotective actions of this drug. We conclude that the histological outcome after administration of cerebral neuroprotectants should be assessed following long-term survival. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Staurosporine, a novel protein kinase C inhibitor, prevents postischemic neuronal damage in the gerbil and rat

The protective effects of protein kinase inhibitors and a calmodulin kinase inhibitor (W-7) against ischemic neuronal damage were examined in the CA1 subfield of the hippocampus. Staurosporine, KT5720, and KT5822 were used as inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC), cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, and cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase, respectively. All test compounds were injected topically into the CA1 subfield of the hippocampus. In the gerbil ischemia model, staurosporine (0.1-10 ng) administered 30 min before ischemia prevented neuronal damage in a dose-dependent manner. However, KT5720, KT5822, and W-7 were ineffective, even at a dose of 10 ng. In the rat ischemia model, staurosporine (10 ng) also prevented neuronal damage when administered before ischemic insult, although staurosporine administered 10 or 180 min after recirculation was ineffective. These results suggest the involvement of PKC in CA1 pyramidal cell death after ischemia and that the fate of vulnerable CA1 pyramidal cells through PKC-mediated processes could be determined during the early recirculation period.