[Laser capture microdissection: a new tool for the study of cerebral ischemia]

To review studies using microscopy techniques of laser capture microdissection on cerebral tissue and the possible applications of this methodology for the study of cerebral ischemia.

Since ischemic stroke induces neuronal death following the occlusion of a brain artery, reperfusion and neuroprotective treatments are the only therapeutic strategies used so far. However, the relevant role of other brain cells such as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglial and endothelial cells, or even the extracellular matrix itself, in several steps of the ischemic cascade, adds a huge complexity to stroke. In this scenario lesser simplistic approaches will be required. Therefore, the individual study of all cellular populations involved in cerebral ischemia seems mandatory to determine the cellular source of all participant molecules. Laser capture microdissection appears as a rapid, efficient and precise technique to isolate cell populations for further analysis of gene expression or proteomics.

Laser capture microdissection is a useful and reliable technique to obtain specific cell groups that might guide us to distinguish the cellular origin of the main molecules that are involved in the different steps of the ischemic cascade.