Intraluminal Thread Technique Research Articles

Effect of cerebral arterial occlusion on cerebral perivascular innervation: a histochemical and immunohistochemical study in the rat.

The effect of acute cerebral occlusion on the distribution of cerebral perivascular nerves containing catecholamine, neuropeptide Y, and vasoactive intestinal peptide was studied in the three commonly used rat models of cerebral ischemia: Unilateral permanent middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion induced with an intraluminal thread technique; unilateral MCA occlusion produced by extraluminal electrocoagulation of the MCA; and transient arterial occlusion of the whole brain induced extracranially by the four-vessel clasp occlusion method for 30 minutes. Animals were sacrificed 3 days after occlusion and the distribution of the perivascular nerves of the MCA studied. Intraluminally occluded MCAs showed a similar distribution of perivascular nerves to those of contralateral and sham-operated MCAs. Extraluminally occluded MCAs demonstrated a marked decrease in perivascular nerves containing catecholamine and peptides while the contralateral MCAs showed normal distribution of the nerves. Extracranial occlusion caused no discernible change in the distribution of perivascular nerves in occluded and sham-operated animals. This study indicates that the different methods of cerebral arterial occlusion have variable effects on the perivascular innervation. Arterial occlusion induced by intraluminal or transient extracranial procedures does not impair cerebral perivascular innervation at least up to 3 days post-occlusion. In contrast, cerebral arterial occlusion by extraluminal electrocoagulation diminishes the perivascular nerves around the occluded cerebral artery.

Catecholamine histofluorescence depletion in the infarcted brain parenchyma but not in the adventitia of the occluded cerebral arteries in rats

The effect of acute cerebral ischemia on the catecholamine-containing nerve fibers in the brain parenchyma and in the adventitia of the cerebral arteries was studied in the rat. Unilateral cerebral ischemia was produced with an intraluminal thread technique which does not damage the adventitia of cerebral arteries. One to three days after surgery the ischemic damage of the brain was consistently observed in the territory of the middle cerebral artery of the operated side. Depletion of catecholamine histofluorescence was observed in the infarcted brain parenchyma. However, in the adventitia of the middle cerebral arteries of the operated side, catecholamine histofluorescence remained intact. No detectable changes in fluorescence were observed in the brain parenchyma or adventitia of the cerebral arteries in the contralateral side. The results indicate that the perivascular catecholamine-containing nerve fibers are not impaired by the intraluminal occlusion of the cerebral artery in the early stage of ischemia.

Rat middle cerebral artery occlusion using an intraluminal thread technique

A modification of the previous methods of producing cerebral ischaemia in rats (Koizumi et al., Longa et al.), using an intraluminal thread technique, is described. The middle cerebral artery is occluded by introducing a simple 3-0 nylon thread (0.20-0.249 mm in diameter) through the internal carotid artery in the neck. It has been proven that with this method reproducible focal cerebral ischaemia can be achieved which resembles human stroke. Therefore this simple and relatively non-invasive model is suitable for the pathophysiological investigation of ischaemic stroke and the testing of potential therapies.