| Abstract No.: | B-B2039 |
| Country: | Canada |
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| Title: | REAL-TIME IMAGING OF NEUROINFLAMATION : GENDER EFFECTS ON GLIAL RESPONSES IN CEREBRAL ISCHEMIA. |
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| Authors/Affiliations: | 1 Pierre Jr Cordeau *; 1 Mélanie Lalancette-Hébert; 1 Yuan Cheng Weng ; 1 Yuan Cheng Weng ; 3 Jasna Kriz;
1 CHUL, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
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| Content: | Using a reporter mouse expressing luciferase gene under the transcriptional control of murine GFAP promoter (GFAP-luc mice) and biophotonic/bioluminescent imaging as tools, we developed a model-system for in vivo analysis of astrocyte activation/response in cerebral ischemia. The analysis of photon emissions from the brains of living animals revealed marked gender differences in astrocyte response to ischemic injury. The increase in GFAP signals was significantly higher in female mice in metestrus/diestrus period as compared to male transgenic mice. Similar results were obtained by quantitative immunohistochemistry. However, astrocyte activation/GFAP signals showed cyclic, estrus-dependent variations in response to ischemic injury. Physiologically higher levels of estrogen and application of pharmacological doses of estrogen during replacement therapy attenuated GFAP up-regulation after stroke. Interestingly, contrary to positive correlation between the intensities of GFAP signals and the size of the infarction in male mice, no correlation was observed in any of the experimental group in female GFAP-luc mice. Our results suggest that GFAP up-regulation in ischemic injury may have different functional significance in female and male experimental animals and may not directly reflect the extent of ischemia-induced neuronal damage in female GFAP-luc mice. Using novel live imaging approach, we demonstrated that early-phase brain inflammatory response to ischemia may be associated with gender-specific biomarkers of brain damage. |
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