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(Stroke. 2006;37:1087.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Microglia Potentiate Damage to Blood–Brain Barrier Constituents

Improvement by Minocycline In Vivo and In Vitro

From the Departments of Anesthesia (L.X., X.N.T., Y.Q., R.G.G.) and Neurosurgery (R.G.G.), Stanford University School of Medicine, California; and Department of Neurology (M.A.Y., X.N.T.), University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, California.

Correspondence to Midori A. Yenari, MD, Dept of Neurology, UCSF, Neurology (127) VAMC, 4150 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121. E-mail yenari{at}alum.mit.edu

Background— Blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption after stroke can worsen ischemic injury by increasing edema and causing hemorrhage. We determined the effect of microglia on the BBB and its primary constituents, endothelial cells (ECs) and astrocytes, after ischemia using in vivo and in vitro models.

Methods and Results— Primary astrocytes, ECs, or cocultures were prepared with or without added microglia. Primary ECs were more resistant to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion than astrocytes. ECs plus astrocytes showed intermediate vulnerability. Microglia added to cocultures nearly doubled cell death. This increase was prevented by minocycline and apocynin. In vivo, minocycline reduced infarct volume and neurological deficits and markedly reduced BBB disruption and hemorrhage in mice after experimental stroke.

Conclusions— Inhibition of microglial activation may protect the brain after ischemic stroke by improving BBB viability and integrity. Microglial inhibitors may prove to be an important treatment adjunct to fibrinolysis.

Key Words: blood–brain barrier • inflammation • ischemia • microglia

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