Study on the expression of nestin after focal cerebral ischemia in adult rat

Objective To investigate the effect of focal cerebral ischemia on nestin expression in adult rat.Methods Rat cerebral ischemia model was made by modified Haruo Nagasawa method.Brains from rats (n=30) at 12 h,24 h,48 h,96 h,day 7 and day 14 (n=5 per time point) after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO),and control sham operated (n=6) and normal (n=5) rats were processed by single labeled monoclonal antibody and examined by immunohistochemistry for identification of cellular nestin expression.Diaminobenzidine (DAB) was then used as a sensitive chromogen for optical microscopy.Results Nestin positive cells were found in ischemic tissue at the rim of infarction area after 12 hours of MCAO,peaked on day 7,and still distinctly observed on day 14 but less than on day 7.They were not found in control sham operated and normal rats.Conclusions Nestin re expression of reactive astrocyte and microvessels can be induced by CMAO in ischemic tissue.The re expression of nestin,which represents the immature state of cells at embryonic stage,may play a role in tissue repairing process.