Assessment of neuronal and glial injury in a rodent model of focal ischemia

Abstract

Human stroke affects equivalent volumes of gray and white matter. Traditionally, focus on assessment of ischemic injury in experimental models was dominated by histological assessment of neuronal viability and cell counts. However evidence has demonstrated the functional, behavioral and long-term impact of white matter lesions in stroke and therefore, a much needed effort to address the integrity of both gray and white matter lesions is important in devising strategies to protect the brain as a whole. Focal cerebral ischemia models simulating human stroke are indispensable in investigating cerebral gray and white matter injury. The intraluminal filament mouse middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model mimics one of the commonest causes of stroke in humans1 and is one of the most frequently used models in experimental stroke research. We adapt a mouse stroke model to study the pathological changes in the evolution of an infarct in both gray and white matter regions.