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Updated: Apr 23, 2026
The Application Of Permanent Middle Cerebral Artery Ligation in the Mouse
Published on: July 25, 2011
Alpha-lipoic acid upregulates SIRT1-dependent PGC-1α expression and protects mouse brain against focal ischemia
1Department of Geriatrics, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, PR China.
Background And Object:
Silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1) is a class III histone deacetylase and activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ co-activator-1α (PGC-1α) which attenuates oxidative damage. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) has been proven to protect the rat brain against cerebral ischemia injury by reducing oxidative stress. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the potential neuroprotection and the possible role of ALA in SIRT1 pathway.
Methods:
Male CD-1 mice were randomly assigned to three groups: Sham, permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) and ALA group (ALA, 50mg/kg). ALA was administered intraperitoneally 30min prior to ischemia in the ALA group. Neurological deficit, infarct volume, and brain edema were detected at 24h after cerebral ischemia. Immunohistochemistry, western blot and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to detect the expression of SIRT1 and PGC-1α. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured by assay kits.
Results:
Compared with the pMCAO group, the ALA group significantly ameliorated neurological deficit, lessened infarct volume and brain edema, increased the expression of SIRT1, PGC-1α and activities of SOD (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
ALA protected the mouse brain against ischemic damage, and this protection may be through up-regulating SIRT1-dependent PGC-1α expression.
