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Four-vessel occlusion model using aged male Wistar rats: a reliable model to resolve the discrepancy related to age in cerebral ischemia research

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Abstract

Animal models of cerebral ischemia have typically been established and performed using young animals, even though cerebral ischemia (CI) affects primarily elderly patients. This situation represents a discrepancy that complicates the translation of novel therapeutic strategies for CI. Models of transient global CI using aged animals have demonstrated an apparent neuroprotective effect on CA1 hippocampal neurons; however, this effect is not completely understood. Our study used a model in which young (3–6 months) and aged (18–21 months) male Wistar rats were subjected to 15 min of transient global CI using the four-vessel occlusion (4 VO) model. We determined that the 4 VO model can be performed on aged rats with a slight increase in mortality rate. In aged rats, the morphological damage was completely established by the 4th day after reperfusion, displaying no difference from their younger counterparts. These results demonstrated the lack of a neuroprotective effect of aging on CA1 hippocampal neurons in aged male Wistar rats. This study determined and characterized the morphological damage to the CA1 area after 15 min of 4 VO in aged male Wistar rats, validating the use of this model in CI and aging research.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Madero and Dr. Aguirre Pequeño, Mitras Centro, 64460, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Jesús Ancer-Rodríguez

  2. Department of Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Madero and Dr. Aguirre Pequeño, Mitras Centro, 64460, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Eliud Enrique Villarreal-Silva, Rodolfo Amador Salazar-Ybarra, Oscar Quiroga-García, Rodolfo Morales-Avalos, Alejandro Quiroga-Garza, Rodrigo Enrique Elizondo-Omaña & Santos Guzmán-López

  3. Department of Histology, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Madero and Dr. Aguirre Pequeño, Mitras Centro, 64460, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Humberto Rodríguez-Rocha, Aracely García-García & Odila Saucedo-Cárdenas

  4. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Van Nuys Medical Science Building 635 Barnhill Drive, MS 507, 46202, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Zao Cheng Xu

  5. Neurosurgery Service, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Madero and Dr. Aguirre Pequeño, Mitras Centro, 64460, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Jesús Alberto Morales-Gómez & Angel Raymundo Martínez-Ponce-de-León

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  1. Jesús Ancer-Rodríguez
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  2. Eliud Enrique Villarreal-Silva
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  3. Rodolfo Amador Salazar-Ybarra
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  6. Aracely García-García
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  7. Rodolfo Morales-Avalos
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  8. Jesús Alberto Morales-Gómez
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  9. Alejandro Quiroga-Garza
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  10. Odila Saucedo-Cárdenas
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  11. Zao Cheng Xu
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  12. Rodrigo Enrique Elizondo-Omaña
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  13. Angel Raymundo Martínez-Ponce-de-León
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  14. Santos Guzmán-López
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Correspondence to Eliud Enrique Villarreal-Silva.

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Ancer-Rodríguez, J., Villarreal-Silva, E.E., Salazar-Ybarra, R.A. et al. Four-vessel occlusion model using aged male Wistar rats: a reliable model to resolve the discrepancy related to age in cerebral ischemia research. Anat Sci Int 91, 226–237 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-015-0286-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-015-0286-x

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