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Ischemic Postconditioning Alleviates Brain Edema After Focal Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion in Rats Through Down-Regulation of Aquaporin-4

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Abstract

Cerebral edema is a serious complication associated with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) plays a role in generating postischemic edema after reperfusion. Recently, ischemic postconditioning (Postcond) has been shown to produce neuroprotective effects and reduce brain edema in rats after cerebral I/R. It is unclear if ischemic Postcond alleviates brain edema injury through regulation of AQP4. In this study, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was induced in rats by filament insertion for 2 h following 24-h reperfusion: ischemic Postcond treatment was performed before reperfusion in the experimental group. We used the wet-dry weight ratio and transmission electron microscopy to evaluate brain edema after 24 h of reperfusion. We used immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses to evaluate the distribution and expression of AQP4. Ischemic Postcond significantly reduced the water content of the brain tissue and swelling of the astrocytic foot processes. AQP4 expression increased in the I/R and Postcond groups compared to the sham group, but it decreased in the Postcond group compared to the I/R group. The results of our study suggest that ischemic Postcond effectively reduces brain edema after reperfusion by inhibiting AQP4 expression. The data in this study support the use of ischemic Postcond for alleviating brain edema after cerebral I/R.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Doctor Startup Fund of Liaoning Province (20121131), Animal Scientific Research and Clinical Application for Major Disease of Liaoning Province (2012225021), and Science and Technology Projects of Liaoning Province (2009225010-2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Affiliated Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No. 36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110004, People’s Republic of China

    Dong Han, Miao Sun, Ping-ping He, Lu-lu Wen, Hong Zhang & Juan Feng

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  1. Dong Han
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  2. Miao Sun
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  3. Ping-ping He
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  4. Lu-lu Wen
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  5. Hong Zhang
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  6. Juan Feng
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Correspondence to Juan Feng.

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Highlights

Ischemic postconditioning decreased brain edema.

Ischemic postconditioning reduced the swelling of astrocytic foot processes.

Ischemic postconditioning inhibited the over-expression of aquaporin-4.

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Han, D., Sun, M., He, Pp. et al. Ischemic Postconditioning Alleviates Brain Edema After Focal Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion in Rats Through Down-Regulation of Aquaporin-4. J Mol Neurosci 56, 722–729 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-015-0504-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-015-0504-y

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