Effects of blockade of ionotropic glutamate receptors on blood–brain barrier disruption in focal cerebral ischemia

• Published in: Neurological sciences 2010-12, Vol.31 (6), p.699-703
• Main Authors: Liu, Xia, Hunter, Christine, Weiss, Harvey R., Chi, Oak Z.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alpha -Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptors; Animals; Blood-brain barrier; Blood-Brain Barrier - drug effects; Blood-Brain Barrier - metabolism; Brain Edema - drug therapy; Brain Edema - etiology; Brain Edema - metabolism; Brain Ischemia - complications; Brain Ischemia - metabolism; Cerebral blood flow; Cortex; Data processing; Dextran; Disease Models, Animal; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists - pharmacology; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists - therapeutic use; Glutamic acid receptors (ionotropic); Ischemia; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Membrane permeability; N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors; Neurology; Neuroradiology; Neurosciences; Neurosurgery; Original Article; Permeability; Psychiatry; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate - antagonists & inhibitors; Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate - physiology
• ISSN: 1590-1874; 1590-3478
• DOI: 10.1007/s10072-010-0241-5

To determine whether blockade of ionotropic glutamate receptors such as NMDA or AMPA receptors would attenuate blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption in focal cerebral ischemia, 15 min before middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion, CGS-19755 or NBQX was injected intraperitoneally in rats. At 1 h after MCA occlusion, BBB permeability was determined by measuring the transfer coefficient ( K i ) of 14 C-α-aminoisobutyric acid and the volume of dextran distribution. With MCA occlusion, K i was increased in the ischemic cortex (IC) (316%). CGS-19755 attenuated the increase in K i in the IC (−46%), but NBQX did not significantly decrease it. The difference in the volume of dextran distribution between the IC and the contralateral cortex became insignificant with the blockade of NMDA or AMPA receptors. Our data demonstrated that blockade of NMDA or AMPA receptors could attenuate the BBB disruption in focal cerebral ischemia and suggest that ionotropic glutamate receptors are involved in part in BBB disruption.