Matrix metalloproteinase inhibition counteracts impairment of cortical experience-dependent plasticity after photothrombotic stroke.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are fine modulators of brain plasticity and pathophysiology. The inhibition of MMPs shortly after ischaemic stroke reduces the infarct size and has beneficial effects on post-stroke behavioural recovery. Our previous studies have shown that photothrombotic cortical stroke disrupts use-dependent plasticity in the neighbouring cortex. The aim of the present study was to check whether the inhibition of MMPs after photothrombosis rescued the plastic capacity of the barrel cortex. To induce plasticity in adult mice, a unilateral deprivation of all vibrissae except row C was applied. The deprivation started immediately after stroke and lasted 7 days. This procedure, in control (non-stroke) animals, results in an enlargement of functional representation of the spared row, as shown with [(14)C]2-deoxyglucose uptake mapping. In mice with stroke induced by photothrombosis in the vicinity of the barrel cortex, vibrissae deprivation did not result in an enlargement of the cortical representation of the spared row C of vibrissae, which confirmed our previous results. However, when mice were injected with the broad-spectrum inhibitor of MMPs FN-439 (10 mg/kg, i.v.) immediately before a stroke, an enlargement of the representation of the spared row similar to the enlargement found in sham mice was observed. These results indicate the involvement of MMPs in the impairment of use-dependent plasticity in the vicinity of an ischaemic lesion.

Matrix metaloproteinases activity during the evolution of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in the immature rat. The effect of 1-methylnicotinamide (MNA).

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic enzymes that degrade the extracellular matrix and carry out key functions during brain development. Apart from a physiological role, excessive activation of MMPs in brain tissue has been postulated to represent a pathway for cell death arising from ischemia. To evaluate the possible involvement of MMPs in the perinatal brain asphyxia, we exposed 7-day-old rats to hypoxia-ischemia (HI). Unilateral HI was administered by ligation of the common carotid artery followed by hypoxia (7.4% O2/92.6% N2) for 65 minutes. This insult is known to produce brain damage confined to the cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to the arterial occlusion in > 90% of animals. HI resulted in a significant elevation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity in the ipsilateral forebrain. The maximum activation was found at 48 hours and 7-14 days after the insult. These results suggest that early and late induction of MMPs may play a role in neuronal death as well as in repair processes. The treatment of animals subjected to HI with 1-methylnicotinamide (MNA), the anti-inflammatory agent, led to the inhibition of MMP-9 in an acute phase of ischemic damage and to the activation of MMP-2 in the later stages after injury. The timing of MMPs modulation by MNA may indicate its possible therapeutic implications.

Decrease of PKC precedes other cellular signs of calpain activation in area CA1 of the hippocampus after transient cerebral ischemia.

One of the specific features of severe brain injury is an activation of calcium-dependent proteolysis by calpains. We have observed a significant increase of activity as early as 3 h after the insult in a well defined model of delayed ischemic neuronal death in gerbil hippocampus. At 24 h, the enzymatic activity transiently normalized, then increased again, following the place and time of selective cellular death in the CA1 region of hippocampus. The enhanced postischemic proteolysis resulted in concomitant cleavage of calpain-specific endogenous substrates like protein kinase C (PKC), fodrin and microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP2). These effects were also time-dependent and restricted to the vulnerable, CA1 pyramidal neurons-containing the dorsal part (DP) of the hippocampus. We have also characterized the postischemic changes of six different isoforms of PKC. The vulnerable dorsal part of the hippocampus, but not its relative resistant abdominal part (AbP), exhibited a loss of PKCalpha, beta, gamma, and delta isoforms as early as 3 h after ischemic insult. However, at this time, solely in the soluble fraction of homogenate. Later (72 h), a further loss of the enzyme proteins, comprised the particulate fraction as well and resulted in an about 50% decrease of total PKCs in the vulnerable DP region. In the case of PKCalpha, the immunostaining pattern showed, in addition to the disappearance of the enzyme from the injured area, an extensive translocation into nuclei of the survived, ischemia-resistant neurones. The early decreases of PKC isoforms in the cytosol paralleled the transient calpain activation at 3h postischemia but substantially preceded the proteolysis of any other classical calpain substrates, such as fodrin and MAP2, being evidenced not earlier than 48-72 h after the insult and restricted also to the vulnerable dorsal part. In conclusion, our results of the time-dependent effects of transient global cerebral ischemia on the calpain activity, levels and localization of its several substrates suggest, that calpain-mediated proteolysis is specifically involved in the early (induction) as well as in the late (execution) phases of delayed ischemic neuronal death in the CA1 hippocampus.