The protective role of angiopoietin-1 in blood brain barrier permeability after cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats

Abstract

Objective To investigate the protective role of angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) in blood brain barrier permeability after cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats.Methods Rat cerebral ischemia reperfusion was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and randomly divided into 3 groups:sham operated group,saline group and angiopoietin-1 treatment group (n =10).The cerebral water content,brain barrier permeability,infarct volume and the neurological deficits scores were measured 48 h after reperfusion.Results 48 h after reperfusion,the cerebral water content of Ang-1 group was (68.69 ±4.46)％,significantly lower than that of saline group [(79.08 ± 4.12) ％,t =4.33,P ＜ 0.05],and similar to the sham group [(64.37 ± 3.28) ％,t =1.387,P ＞ 0.05].The evans blue (EB) content of three groups were (87.40 ±9.42) μg/g tissue,(381.40 ±22.30) μg/g tissue and (130.90 ± 16.80) μg/g tissue,respectively.The EB content of Ang-1 group was significantly lower than that of saline group (t =15.12,P ＜ 0.01) and similar to the sham group (t =0.934,P ＞ 0.05).The infarct volume of Ang-1 group was (0.119 ± 0.022) cm3,significantly lower than that of saline group [(0.407 ± 0.036) cm3,t =6.327,P ＜ 0.01] and similar to the sham group [(0.104 ± 0.011) cm3,t =1.099,P ＞ 0.05].The neurological deficits scores of three groups were (0.79 ± 0.11),(2.47 ± 0.34) and (1.83 ± 0.29),respectively.The neurological deficits scores of Ang-1 group was significantly lower than that of saline group (t =4.37,P＜0.05) and similar to the sham group (t=2.31,P＜0.05).Conclusion Ang-1 has a protective effect on the permeability of blood brain barrier after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion. Key words: Angiopoietin-1 ; Cerebral ischemia; Reperfusion injury; Blood brain barrier