Rodent stroke induced by photochemical occlusion of proximal middle cerebral artery: evolution monitored with MR imaging and histopathology.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
To longitudinally investigate stroke in rats after photothrombotic occlusion of proximal middle cerebral artery (MCA) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in correlation with histopathology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Forty-two rats were subjected to photochemical MCA occlusion and MRI at 1.5T, and sacrificed in seven groups (n=6 each) at the following time points:
1, 3, 6 and 12h, and at day 1, 3 and 9. T2-weighted (T2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map was performed in all rats. Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (CE-T1WI) was compared to intravital staining with Evans blue in one group for assessing blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity. The brain was stained histochemically with triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) and processed for pathological assessment. The evolutional changes of relative lesion volume, signal intensity (SI), and the BBB integrity on MRI with corresponding histopathology were evaluated.

RESULTS:
The ischemic lesion volume reached a maximum around 12h to day 1 as visualized successively by DWI, ADC map and T2WI, implicating the evolving pathology from cytotoxic edema through vasogenic edema to tissue death. The ADC of brain infarction underwent a significant reversion after 12h, reflecting the colliquative necrosis. On CE-T1WI, BBB leakage peaked at 6h and at day 3 with a transitional partial recovery around 24h. The infarct volume on T2WI, DWI and ADC map matched well with that on TTC staining at 12h and at day 1 (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION:
The evolution of the present photothrombotic stroke model in rats could be characterized by MRI. The obtained information may help longitudinal studies of cerebral ischemia and anti-stroke agents using the same model.

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Author information

Author/s: Chen, Feng (F); Suzuki, Yasuhiro (Y); Nagai, Nobuo (N); Jin, Lixin (L); Yu, Jie (J); Wang, Huaijun (H); Marchal, Guy (G); Ni, Yicheng (Y);

Affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: European journal of radiology (Eur J Radiol), published in Ireland. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Jul; vol 63 (issue 1) : pp 68-75

Dates: Created 2007/06/19; Completed 2007/12/06;

PMID: 17337149, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals
Blood-Brain Barrier - pathology
Brain - blood supply; pathology
Brain Edema - diagnosis; etiology; pathology
Brain Ischemia - complications; pathology
Coloring Agents - diagnostic use
Contrast Media - administration & dosage
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Disease Models, Animal
Disease Progression
Evans Blue - diagnostic use
Gadolinium DTPA - diagnostic use

Gadolinium DTPA - diagnostic use
Image Enhancement - methods
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Male
Middle Cerebral Artery - pathology
Photochemistry - methods
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Stroke - diagnosis; etiology; pathology
Tetrazolium Salts - diagnostic use
Time Factors

Associated Chemicals: Coloring Agents (0) ; Contrast Media (0) ; Tetrazolium Salts (0) ; gadodiamide (122795-43-1) ; Evans Blue (314-13-6) ; Gadolinium DTPA (80529-93-7) ; triphenyltetrazolium (902-00-1)

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