Erythrocyte (dis)aggregation in stroke model in rats

Abstract

Introduction and aim of the study. Ischemic stroke develops in conjunction with interruption of blood flow in microvessels that depends on rheological blood properties. There is a lack of knowledge in hemorheological features of experimental stroke making more difficult to value the relevance of stroke models. The study aims investigation of microhemorheological parameters in two experimental stroke models - thromboembolic model and middle cerebral artery (MCA) ligation model. Methods. Male Wistar rats were subjected to focal brain ischemia in MCA ligation stroke model or thromboembolic stroke model. The neurological deficit, the size of ischemic brain lesion and hemorheological parameters (hematocrit, kinetics of red blood cells (RBC) (dis)aggregation and RBC deformability) were evaluated. Results. The neurological deficit was correlated with the size of brain ischemic lesion. The increased rate of RBC aggregate formation was detected in both stroke models. At the same time, the strength of RBC aggregates changed in a model-dependent manner, namely, it raised sharply in the MCA ligation stroke model, but was somewhat decreased in thromboembolic stroke model. Conclusion. The focal stroke models produce repeatable and neurologically significant lesions of brain followed with fundamental changes in the hemorheological parameters. The way of ischemia producing can be crucial for the direction of hemorheological changes.