Effects of Postconditioning on Neurogenesis and Angiogenesis During the Recovery Phase After Focal Cerebral Ischemia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Postconditioning may be a clinically feasible way to protect the brain after a stroke. However, its effects during the recovery phase post stroke remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we examine the hypothesis that ischemic postconditioning amplifies neurogenesis and angiogenesis during stroke recovery. METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 100-minute transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) or postconditioning (100-minute middle cerebral artery occlusion plus 10-minute reperfusion plus 10-minute reocclusion). After 2 weeks, infarct volumes, behavioral outcomes, and immunohistochemical markers of neurogenesis and angiogenesis were quantified. RESULTS Postconditioning significantly reduced infarction and improved neurological outcomes. Concomitantly, brains subjected to postconditioning showed an increase in doublecortin/BrdU and collagen-IV/Ki67-positive cells. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that therapeutic effects of postconditioning may involve the promotion of neurogenesis and angiogenic remodeling during the recovery phase after focal cerebral ischemia.