Effect of songling xuemaikang pretreatment on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 after focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats / 国际脑血管病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of songling xuemaikang(SL-xmk)pretreatment on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9)after focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats.Methods A total of 45 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into SL-xmk pretreatment,sham operation,and normal saline control group.Preventive gavage was per-formed for 8 weeks in rats using SL-xmk(937.50 mg/kg)suspension in the SLxmk pretreatment group(n = 15);the preventive gavage was performed in rats using the equal volume of normal saline in the sham operation(n = 15)and normal saline control(n = 15)groups.At the end of the pretreatment process,a model of middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)in rats was induced by suture method for 2 hours and reperfusion for 24 hours.The effects of SL-xmk pretreatment on the neurologic deficit scores after transient MCAO,brain water content,and infarct volume in rats were observed.Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the MMP-9 immunoreactive positive cells in ischemic brain tissue.Results The neurologjc deficit scores(1.21 ± 0.25 vs.2.37 ± 0.35,P = 0.000),the brain water content (76.24% ± 7.09% vs.88.78% ± 6.57%,P = 0.000),the percentage of infarct volume (22.62% ±2.17% vs.27.84% ±3.43%,P =0.000),and the numbers of MMP-9 positive cells(16.20 ± 2.17/mm vs.20.60 ± 2.71/mm,P = 0.000)were all significantly lower than those in the control group.Conclusions SL-xmk pretreatment may significantly inhibit the expression of MMP-9 in the brain tissue of focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats and reduce brain water content and infarct volume.