Figure 4 | Cell Death & Differentiation

Figure 4

From: Neuroprotectin D1 upregulates Iduna expression and provides protection in cellular uncompensated oxidative stress and in experimental ischemic stroke

Figure 4

DHA improves neurological scores, protects ischemic penumbra, decreases MRI lesions and diminishes infarct volumes. (a) Time course of neurologic assessment (normal score=0, maximal score=12), postural reflex and visual, tactile and proprioceptive forelimb placing reactions (normal score=0, maximal score=2). DHA (n=6) or vehicle (n=7) were administered 3 h after the onset of MCAo. DHA-treated rats improved all scores on days 1, 3 and 7. (b) High-resolution ex vivo MRI on days 1, 3 and 7. Core and penumbra were extracted from the entire brain and lesion volumes were determined using MRI. Core (red) and penumbral (blue) tissues were automatically identified in saline- and DHA-treated animals using the computational MRI method Hierarchal Region Splitting for penumbra identification. DHA treatment reduced lesions in the ischemic core and penumbra on days 3 and 7. (c) Cortical, subcortical and total lesion volumes, computed from T2WI and representative T2-weighted images (T2WI) from vehicle- and DHA-treated rats on days 1, 3 and 7. DHA treatment reduced T2 values within the lesion on days 3 and 7. T2 hyper-intensities were observed in the cortex and striatum of saline-treated rats, consistent with ongoing edema formation. In contrast, DHA-treated rats had only a small cortical and subcortical lesion on day 7. (d) 3D reconstructions of MRI-derived lesion volumes from high-resolution T2WI from vehicle- and DHA-treated rats on days 1, 3 and 7 after MCAo. Vehicle-treated rats showed large cortical and subcortical lesion volumes (red color) that slowly decreased over the course of 7 days. By contrast, lesion volume was dramatically reduced in rats treated with DHA and was localized mostly in the subcortical areas. (e) Histopathology on days 1, 3 and 7 after MCAo. Total infarct volume was corrected for brain swelling. DHA treatment dramatically reduced cortical, subcortical and total infarct volumes. Values shown are means±S.D. *P<0.05, versus saline group (repeated measures analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni tests)

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