ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The central nervous system (CNS) is extremely vulnerable to ischemic injury. The details underlying this susceptibility are not completely understood. Since the CNS is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that contains a low concentration of plasma protein, we examined the effect of changing the CSF in the evolution of CNS injury during ischemic insult. METHODS: Lumbar spinal cord ischemia was induced in rabbits by cross-clamping the descending abdominal aorta for 1 h, 2 h or 3 h followed by 7 d of reperfusion. Prior to ischemia, rabbits were subjected to the following procedures; 1) CSF depletion, 2) CSF replenishment at 0 mmHg intracranial pressure (ICP), and 3) replacement of CSF with 8% albumin- or 1% gelatin-modified artificial CSF, respectively. Motor function of the hind limbs and histopathological changes of the spinal cord were scored. Post-ischemic microcirculation of the spinal cord was visualized by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) albumin. RESULTS: The severity of histopathological damage paralleled the neurological deficit scores. Paraplegia and associated histopathological changes were accompanied by a clear post-ischemic deficit in blood perfusion. Spinal cord ischemia for 1 h resulted in permanent paraplegia in the control group. Depletion of the CSF significantly prevented paraplegia. CSF replenishment with the ICP reduced to 0 mmHg, did not prevent paraplegia. Replacement of CSF with albumin- or gelatin-modified artificial CSF prevented paraplegia in rabbits even when the ICP was maintained at 10-15 mmHg. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the presence of normal CSF may contribute to the vulnerability of the spinal cord to ischemic injury. Depletion of the CSF or replacement of the CSF with an albumin- or gelatin-modified artificial CSF can be neuroprotective.
ABSTRACT
Fractalkine (FKN), also known as neurotactin, is a CX(3)C chemokine that exists in both secreted and neuronal membrane-bound forms and is upregulated during brain inflammation. There is accumulating evidence that FKN induces chemotaxis by binding to its receptor CX(3)CR1 on leukocytes and microglia. We generated FKN-deficient mice to study the role of FKN in postischemic brain injury. After transient focal cerebral ischemia, FKN-deficient mice had a 28% reduction in infarction size and lower mortality rate, when compared to wild-type littermates. The findings of this study indicate a possible role for FKN in augmenting postischemic injury and mortality after transient focal cerebral ischemia.