(Stroke. 1996;27:747-752.)
© 1996 American Heart Association, Inc.
Articles |
From the Departments of Neurosurgery (S.-Z.L.) and Pharmacology (A.-L.C., Y.W.), National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Correspondence to Yun Wang, MD, PhD, Department of Pharmacology, National Defense Medical Center, 18 Se-Yuan Rd, PO Box 90048-504, Taipei, Taiwan, 100 ROC. E-mail yun@ndmc1.ndmctsgh.edu.tw.
| Abstract |
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Methods Temporary cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery ligation while common carotid arteries were clamped bilaterally for 40 minutes in urethane-anesthetized rats. Extracellular NO concentration in the cortex was recorded through Nafion- and porphyrine-coated carbon fiber electrodes. Ketamine, an NMDA channel blocker, was administered (50 mg/kg) intraperitoneally 15 minutes before the cerebral artery ligation.
Results During middle cerebral artery ligation, cortical NO was increased to its peak (18.76±3.36 nmol/L) in 7 minutes and then declined. The overflow of NO can be antagonized by pretreatment with ketamine, dizocilpine maleate (MK801), or NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Local application of nitroprusside also induced NO production. However, this effect was not antagonized by ketamine.
Conclusions These findings demonstrated that NO release induced by short-term cerebral ischemia can be attenuated by pretreatment with NMDA antagonists.
Key Words: cerebral ischemia ketamine nitric oxide N-methyl-D-aspartate rats
| Introduction |
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In this study, we directly measured extracellular NO concentration with Nafion- and porphyrin-treated carbon fiber electrodes and in vivo chronoamperometric techniques. Our data suggested that ketamine can prevent the increase of NO release during MCA ligation.
| Materials and Methods |
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The ligation of the right MCA and bilateral CCAs was performed using methods suggested by Chen et al.12 The bilateral CCAs were identified and isolated through a ventral midline cervical incision. The CCAs were ligated with nontraumatic arterial clips. A craniotomy of about 2x2 mm2 was made in the right squamosal bone. The right MCA was ligated with a 10-0 suture. The craniotomy was covered with gel foam.
In vivo chronoamperometric measurements of extracellular NO
concentration were performed with a microcomputer-controlled
apparatus (IVEC-10, Medical Systems Corp). The
recordings were taken at the cerebral cortex (2.2 mm posterior
to the bregma, 5.0 to 5.5 mm lateral to the midline, 0.9 mm below the
cortical surface). Remote from this site, miniature Ag/AgCl reference
electrodes were inserted into the left parietal cortex and cemented in
place with dental acrylic. The working electrodes, which did not sense
membrane potentials or respond to sodium or potassium
fluxes,13 were made of two carbon fiber filaments (30 µm
in diameter, Textron Co). The sensor was first coated with Nafion (5%
solution, Aldrich Chemical Co) at 65°C to decrease the
interference of ascorbic acid.14 The electrodes were then
coated with 2 mmol/L TMPP-Ni in 0.1 mol/L NaOH, at 0.9 V for
15 minutes.15 The diameter of carbon fiber after coating
was 30 µm. These electrodes were each tested for sensitivity and
selectivity to NO in vitro. Calibration of NO (5 to 15 nmol/L) was made
using 5 to 15 µmol/L SNAP in 0.1 mmol/L phosphated buffer, pH
7.4.16 Only electrodes showing selectivity of NO compared
with ascorbic acid greater than 100 000:1 in vitro were used in the in
vivo preparation. The NO current generated by application of oxidation
potential of +0.9 V, relative to an Ag/AgCl reference electrode, was
recorded in vivo continuously at a rate of 1 Hz. All in vivo
signals were expressed as NO changes in nanomoles per liter using
the in vitro calibration factors (Fig 1C
).
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The production and selectivity of NO were measured after microejection of nitroprusside, SNAP, or ascorbic acid into the cortical parenchyma. Nitroprusside (3 mmol/L, 75 to 150 nL), SNAP (10 µmol/L, 200 nL), or ascorbic acid (200 µmol/L, 50 to 200 nL) was locally applied through a micropipette. L-NAME was given intraventricularly (1 µg/µL, 10 µL per rat) 30 minutes before the vessel ligation, followed by local application of L-NAME (1 µg/µL, 192±8 nL). The working electrode and the micropipette were mounted together with sticky wax (Kerr Inc); tips were separated by 100 to 150 µm. Local application of nitroprusside from the micropipettes was performed by pressure ejection using a pneumatic pump (PPM-2, Medical Systems Corp). The ejected volume was monitored by recording the change in the fluid meniscus in the pipette before and after ejection with a dissection microscope.17
Histological Study
Six rats were used to study the topographical injury after
vascular occlusion. The right MCA and CCAs were temporally ligated for
60 minutes to ensure the area of injury. Twenty-four hours after
the ligation, these rats were killed and perfused intracardially with
0.9% saline. The brains were removed and immersed in cold saline for 5
minutes and sliced into 2-mm sections. The brain slices were incubated
in a 2% TTC12 saline at 37°C for 30 minutes and were
then fixed in Histochoice medium (Amresco Inc) for 30 minutes. The
volume of infarction was measured and summed by computerized planimetry
(In Situ, LSR Ltd).
Chemicals
All drugs were dissolved in 0.9% saline. Ketamine
hydrochloride (Ketalar; Parke-Davis Co) was given at a dose of 50 mg/kg
IP. MK801 was administered at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg IP. TMPP-Ni was
purchased from Porphyrin Products Inc. NMDA, MK801, SNAP, and
L-NAME were purchased from RBI. TTC was purchased from Sigma Chemical
Co.
| Results |
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In 6 rats studied, we found that the extracellular NO concentration was
increased by MCA ligation (Fig 2
). During the ligation
period, the basal NO level was gradually increased to an average±SEM
of 18.76±3.36 nmol/L. The rise time, the period between the completion
of vessel ligation and the peak of NO production, was
323.4±86.9 seconds. The half-life for NO decay was 980.0±90.4
seconds.
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We previously reported that ketamine at a dose of 50
mg/kg antagonized hypoxia-induced dopamine release in
the striatum without affecting blood pH,
PO2, or
PCO2.11 In the present study,
we pretreated 5 rats with ketamine (50 mg/kg IP) 15 minutes
before the vessel ligation. The production of NO in the cortex
after MCA ligation was antagonized by ketamine (Fig 3
, A1 and
A2). The average increase in NO concentration induced by
ligation of the MCA was significantly diminished by the pretreatment
with ketamine (1.44±0.84 nmol/L, n=5; P<.05,
one-way ANOVA and Newman-Keuls test). In 3 rats, we also examined
the interaction of ischemia-induced NO release with MK801,
an NMDA channel blocker. We found that systemically administered MK801
(2.5 mg/kg IP) significantly antagonized NO production
(1.57±1.21 nmol/L; P<.05, one-way ANOVA followed by
Newman-Keuls post hoc test) during ischemic insults (Fig 3
, B1
and B2, and Fig 5
).
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We also found that the production of NO release during cerebral
arterial ligation can be antagonized by pretreatment with
L-NAME (Figs 4
and 5
). Our preliminary
study indicated that intraventricular application
of L-NAME (1 µg/µL, 10 µL per rat) 30 minutes before vessel
ligation, followed by local application of L-NAME (1 µg/µL,
192±8 nL), significantly attenuated NO production (5.71±2.44
nmol/L, n=3; P<.05, one-way ANOVA and Newman-Keuls
test; Fig 5
).
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We found that NO can be generated (8.97±2.16 nmol/L) after local microejection of nitroprusside (3 mmol/L, 91±16 nL, n=11). The rise and decay times of NO induced by nitroprusside administration were less than 20 seconds. This nitroprusside-synthesized NO was not affected by ketamine, suggesting that the attenuation of NO production after ketamine was not attributable to the decreasing sensitivity of NO sensors.
We found that MCA ligation resulted in cortical infarction in 6 animals
studied (Fig 6
). The area of infarction was limited to
the cortical area that corresponded to the placement of electrochemical
sensors. The infarction volume was 77.7±8.2 mm3.
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| Discussion |
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200 µm)
described in other studies,20 21 these electrodes are less
traumatic to the brain tissue and have higher spatial
resolution.22 These features enabled us to directly place
the electrode in a small ischemic area in the cortex and
measure NO concentration in real time. A previous study suggested that quantities of NO in micromoles per liter may be released by MCA ligation.5 We found that ligation of the MCA can only induce NO release in the 20-nmol/L range, which is slightly higher than that seen in the global cerebral ischemia induced by hemorrhagic hypotension in cats.21 This difference may arise from several factors. (1) The tips of electrodes we used were relatively small and may be less traumatic to the cortex, resulting in less injury-induced NO release. (2) Using TTC staining techniques, we found that the ischemic area induced by direct vessel ligation in this study was limited to the cortex only. On the other hand, a much greater brain region, including cortex and basal ganglion, may be involved with use of intraluminal vascular occlusion.23 (3) The tip of our electrochemical sensor was placed in the cortical area, ie, 0.9 mm below the cortical surface. The sensors used by Malinski and Taha15 were inserted 3 mm below the surface, which corresponds to basal ganglia. (4) Our electrodes have a very high selectivity to NO compared with ascorbic acid both in vitro and in vivo. It has been suggested that ascorbic acid may be released during hypoxia or ischemia.18 19 It is possible that the high surge of NO during ischemia in the previous study may have been contaminated with ascorbic acid.
Previous study indicated that NMDA receptors can be activated during ischemic or hypoxic insults. We reported that ketamine or MK801, an NMDA channel blocker, antagonized hypoxia-induced dopamine release in the striatum.11 In the present study, we found that pretreatment with ketamine or MK801 antagonized ischemia-elicited NO production. In a preliminary study, we found that ketamine antagonized NMDA-mediated release of NO in the cortex (data not shown). Taken together, these data suggest that NO release induced by MCA occlusion may involve activation of NMDA receptors.
We found that NO release induced by MCA occlusion can be greatly suppressed by pretreatment with L-NAME, suggesting that the production of NO is mainly mediated through the activation of NO synthesis. On the other hand, the pretreatment with L-NAME did not abolish the NO production. The lack of complete abolition of NO production may be attributed to the limited distribution of L-NAME. Recent reports indicated that the carbon-14 radioactivity was not widely spread after intraventricular administration of [14C]L-nitroarginine, even in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the injection.24
The physiological roles of NO production
during occlusion of cerebral vessels are still not clear. The
production of NO may be protective by virtue of its ability to
induce cerebral vasodilation.25 Inhibition of NO synthesis
with N
-nitro-L-arginine, a
nonselective inhibitor of NO synthesis, increases the
volume of focal ischemic infarction.26 On the
other hand, overproduction of NO may result in a greater
infarction area. Animals treated with 7-nitroindazole, a selective
inhibitor of neuronal NO synthase, showed a significant
reduction of focal infarction after MCA occlusion.27 A
recent study indicated that the infarct volumes of mice deficient in
neuronal NO synthase activity were significantly decreased compared
with those in normal mice after MCA occlusion. However, after
inhibition of endothelial NO synthesis, the other major
NO synthesis type, the infarct size in the mutants became
larger.28 Taken together, these data indicate that
neuronal NO production may exacerbate acute ischemic
injury, whereas vascular NO protects after MCA occlusion. It has been
reported that NO generated in response to activation of NMDA receptor
in vivo is neuronally derived and not due to a direct vascular
effect.29 Inhibition of synthesis of the R1 subunit of the
NMDA receptor by treatment with antisense
oligodeoxynucleotides prevents the neurotoxicity
elicited by NMDA and reduces the volume of focal ischemic
infarction production by occlusion of the MCA.30
Taken together, these data suggest that blocking NMDA receptors may
limit injury during or after ischemic insults, possibly via
inhibition of neuronal NO production.
In conclusion, our data suggest that short-term ischemia may activate NO release. We found that ketamine, an NMDA channel blocker, prevents NO release induced by acute ischemia in the cerebral cortex. It is possible that ketamine may be useful in the acute stage of ischemic attack or at least should be considered as an anesthetic agent for surgical patients with ischemic brain diseases.
| Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms |
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| Acknowledgments |
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Received August 14, 1995; revision received January 3, 1996; accepted January 11, 1996.
| References |
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