Relationship between AQP4 expression and structural damage to the blood-brain barrier at early stages of traumatic brain injury in rats  

作　　者：LU Hong LEI Xiao-yan HU Hui HE Zhan-ping 

机构地区：[1]Department of Radiology , Department of Nursing , Affiliated Haikou Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Haikou, Hainan 570208, China

出　　处：《Chinese Medical Journal》2013年第22期4316-4321,共6页中华医学杂志（英文版）

基　　金：This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 81160181） and the International Cooperation Project of Hainan Province （No. Qiongke （2012） 65）.Acknowledgments： We thank XIA Qing-jie from the Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Neurological Disease and Translation Neuroscience Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China for help with molecular biology experiments.

摘　　要：Background Although some studies have reported that aquaporin-4 （AQP4） plays an important role in the brain edema after traumatic brain injury （TBI）, little is known about the AQP4 expression in the early stage of TBI, or about the correlation between the structural damage to the blood-brain barrier （BBB） and angioedema. The aim of this project was to investigate the relationship between AQP4 expression and damage to the BBB at early stages of TBI. Methods One hundred and twenty healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups： sham operation group （SO） and TBI group. The TBI group was divided into five sub-groups according to the different time intervals： 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours. The brains of the animals were taken out at different time points after TBI to measure brain water content. The cerebral edema and BBB changes in structure were examined with an optical microscopy （OM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and the IgG content and AQP4 protein expression in traumatic brain tissue were determined by means of immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. The data were analyzed with SPSS 13.0 statistical software. Results In the SO group, tissue was negative for IgG, and there were no abnormalities in brain water content or AQP4 expression. In the TBI group, brain water content significantly increased at 6 hours and peaked at 24 hours following injury. IgG expression significantly increased from 1 to 6 hours following injury, and remained at a high level at 24 hours. Pathological observation revealed BBB damage at 1 hour following injury. Angioedema appeared at 1 hour, was gradually aggravated, and became obvious at 6 hours. Intracellular edema occurred at 3 hours, with the presence of large glial cell bodies and mitochondrial swelling. These phenomena were aggravated with time and became obvious at 12 hours. In addition, microglial proliferation was visible at 24 hours. AQP4 protein expression were reduced at 1 hour, lowest at 6 hours, and began to increase aBackground Although some studies have reported that aquaporin-4 （AQP4） plays an important role in the brain edema after traumatic brain injury （TBI）, little is known about the AQP4 expression in the early stage of TBI, or about the correlation between the structural damage to the blood-brain barrier （BBB） and angioedema. The aim of this project was to investigate the relationship between AQP4 expression and damage to the BBB at early stages of TBI. Methods One hundred and twenty healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups： sham operation group （SO） and TBI group. The TBI group was divided into five sub-groups according to the different time intervals： 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours. The brains of the animals were taken out at different time points after TBI to measure brain water content. The cerebral edema and BBB changes in structure were examined with an optical microscopy （OM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and the IgG content and AQP4 protein expression in traumatic brain tissue were determined by means of immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. The data were analyzed with SPSS 13.0 statistical software. Results In the SO group, tissue was negative for IgG, and there were no abnormalities in brain water content or AQP4 expression. In the TBI group, brain water content significantly increased at 6 hours and peaked at 24 hours following injury. IgG expression significantly increased from 1 to 6 hours following injury, and remained at a high level at 24 hours. Pathological observation revealed BBB damage at 1 hour following injury. Angioedema appeared at 1 hour, was gradually aggravated, and became obvious at 6 hours. Intracellular edema occurred at 3 hours, with the presence of large glial cell bodies and mitochondrial swelling. These phenomena were aggravated with time and became obvious at 12 hours. In addition, microglial proliferation was visible at 24 hours. AQP4 protein expression were reduced at 1 hour, lowest at 6 hours, and began to increase a

关 键 词：brain injury  edema  blood-brain barrier  aquaporins animal experiment 

分 类 号：Q959.837[生物学—动物学] Q51