Platelet embolism in rabbit brain

Endothelial dysfunction in cerebral vessels following carotid artery infusion of phorbol ester in rabbits: the role of polymorphonuclear leukocytes

The effect of 4 beta-phorbol-12 beta-myristate-13 alpha-acetate (PMA) on endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasoconstriction and vasodilation was studied in isolated segments of rabbit middle cerebral artery (MCA). Concentration-dependent responses of the left and right MCA to the constrictors KCl, noradrenaline, uridine 5'-triphosphate, serotonin, and histamine, as well as to the dilators acetylcholine, bradykinin, sodium nitroprusside, and calcium ionophore (A23187), were compared in control animals and after PMA injection into the left common carotid artery. In the control animals there was no significant difference in the responses of the left and right MCA to either the constrictors or the dilators studied. After PMA injection the endothelium-dependent relaxation in response to acetylcholine, bradykinin, and A23187 was reduced in the left MCA (PMA-injected side), whereas the effect of the endothelium-independent dilator sodium nitroprusside remained unchanged. Simultaneously greater contractile responses of the left MCA to serotonin and histamine were obtained. Neither infusion of L-arginine in vivo before the PMA injection nor incubation of the isolated MCA segments with L-arginine affected this difference in MCA reactivity. Platelet depletion did not change the PMA-induced reduction in the endothelium-dependent relaxation, whereas after leukocyte depletion this reduction practically disappeared. These results suggest that the PMA-induced brain microembolia causes acute endothelial dysfunction, which is possibly mediated by intravascular activation of leukocytes and is independent of nitric oxide synthesis from L-arginine. This phenomenon might play an important role in cerebral angiospastic disorders after intravascular activation of leukocytes in cerebral ischemia and reperfusion.

Cerebral embolization leads to memory impairment of several learning tasks in rats

The effects of cerebral embolization, produced by injecting microspheres into the left internal carotid artery, on passive and active avoidance tasks and water filled multiple T-maze task, were studied in male Wistar rats. The rats with cerebral embolization were markedly impaired acquisition and retention of the one-trial passive avoidance response. The impairment depended on the number of microspheres injected and continued for 2 weeks. The cerebral embolized rats were also impaired acquisition of two-way active avoidance response in a shuttle box. These impairments are not due to decrease in shock sensitivity, because there was no significant change in the flinch-jump threshold. The embolized rats also exhibited a significant disturbance in performance of water filled multiple T-maze learning. These results suggest that rats with cerebral embolization are impaired in three different types of learning tasks, and may be useful as an animal model for the vascular type of dementia.