Caspase-3 expression in brain tissues of rat subjected to cerebral ischemic preconditioning

Objective To study the expression of caspase-3 protein in rat brain subjected to cerebral ischemic preconditioning.Methods Immunohistochemical technique was used to detect caspase-3 expression in rat brain sections obtained from the following groups:the sham operation group,the preconditioning group,the cerebral ischemic group and the cerebral preconditioning-ischemic group.Results The caspase-3 expression in both cerebral ischemic group and cerebral preconditioning-ischemic group was significantly higher than that in sham operation group (P0.01).The caspase-3 expression in cerebral ischemic group after reperfusion for 48 h and 72 h was significantly higher than that in cerebral preconditioning-ischemic group after reperfusion for 48 h and 72 h,respectively(P0.05,P0.01).Conclusions The protective mechanism of ischemic preconditioning may contribute to inhibiting caspase-3 expression and subsequently inhibiting cerebral cell apoptosis.