Hypoxia of Rats Subjected to Carotid Artery Ligation Results in Impaired Neurogenesis and Reduced Number of Cortical Neurons

Abstract

Cerebral ischemia is a major cause of abnormal brain development. In a cerebral ischemia model, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), white matter lesion and a decrease in the number of subcortical neurons were observed. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hypoxia on neurogenesis and cell survival. In seven-day postnatal rats, the right carotid artery was ligated. The rats were incubated either in a regular normoxic chamber (control group) or in a hypoxic chamber (PVL group, 8% 02 and 92% N2 at 37°C) for 2 h. Nestin- and NeuN-positive neurons were detected by immunohistochemistry. The densities of nestin-immunoreactivity (IR) cells in the cerebral parietal cortex and subventricular zone were increased with hypoxia. NeuN-IR cells in the cerebral cortex were significantly decreased in the PVL group. Perinatal white matter injury induced neurogenesis, while the survival of neurons was decreased in the cerebral cortex.