An ischemic stroke model of nonhuman primates for remote lesion studies: a behavioral and neuroimaging investigation

We aimed to develop a nonhuman primate (NHP) stroke model for studies of secondary lesions in remote areas and to characterize its behavioral and neuroimaging features.

Monkeys were either subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) distal to the M1 branch (n = 17) or sham operation (n = 7). Neurological assessment and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed before and 1 week after operation.

After MCAO, six monkeys showed occlusion of the distal M1 segment and infarcts predominantly in the cortical and subcortical regions, without hippocampal and thalamic involvement. They had obvious neurological deficits. The other 11 monkeys showed blockage of the main trunk of the MCA, with infarcts extending into the hippocampus and thalamus, but no substantia nigra involvement. Their infarct volume were larger and neurological deficits were more severe than those after distal M1 occlusion. All sham-operated monkeys displayed normal behavior; however, MRI revealed small infarcts in three animals.

MCAO or even sham operations might cause cerebral infarction in NHPs. Therefore, neurological assessment should be combined with MRI for screening candidate stroke models. Our model is suitable for studying secondary damage in remote regions, including the thalamus, hippocampus, and substantia nigra, after stroke.