C-reactive protein is associated with the progression of acute embolic stroke in rabbit model

Several lines of evidence have shown that plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) is associated with increased risk of stroke; however, previous studies were not adequately powered to assess whether plasma CRP levels are associated with stroke progression. In the current study, we designed a rabbit stroke model and investigated the relationship between plasma CRP and infarcted brain tissue. To produce a rabbit stroke model, we injected autologous thrombi into the left internal carotid artery. The plasma CRP levels were measured by ELISA at 0.5, 3, 6, 9, and 12 h poststroke. At 12 h, the rabbits were sacrificed, and the whole brains were examined by H & E and immunohistochemical staining with a monoclonal antibody against rabbit CRP. CRP mRNA expression in the infarcted tissue was evaluated by RT-PCR. Plasma CRP was markedly increased after embolic stroke. Plasma CRP positively correlated with the cerebral infarct area (r = 0.98, P < 0.01). Immunohistochemical staining revealed that CRP was frequently present in the infarcted area but not in normal cerebral tissue. RT-PCR showed that CRP was expressed in infarcted brain tissue. The plasma CRP level was significantly elevated after stroke and was closely correlated with the size of infarction, suggesting that CRP is an ideal marker to assess the acute embolic stroke.