Effect of autologous clot embolism on regional protein biosynthesis of monkey brain

Focal cerebral ischemia was produced in monkeys by injection of autologous clots into the left internal carotid artery. Regional protein synthesis was studied 2 hours after embolism by autoradiographic and biochemical evaluation of [3H]phenylalanine incorporation into brain proteins, and the results were correlated with electrophysiologic (electroencephalogram, evoked potentials) and light microscopic observations. Ischemic territories were clearly identified on autoradiograms as sharply demarcated areas with reduced radioactivity. The localization of regions with reduced protein biosynthesis correlated with the early postembolic suppression of evoked potentials but not with the (improved) functional state and the morphologic alterations at the end of the experiment. Suppression of amino acid incorporation, in consequence, is a long-lasting event that allows documentation of the initial embolic impact for at least 2 hours irrespective of the subsequent recovery process.