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Updated: Aug 5, 2025
Photothrombotic Ischemia: A Minimally Invasive and Reproducible Photochemical Cortical Lesion Model for Mouse Stroke Studies
Published on: June 9, 2013
Cellular, histological, and behavioral pathological alterations associated with the mouse model of photothrombotic
Zahra Shabani1, Mehdi Farhoudi2, Reza Rahbarghazi3
1Center for Cerebrovascular Research, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Neurosciences Research Center (NSRC), Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Background:
Photothrombotic (PT) stroke model is a reliable method to induce ischemic stroke in the target site using the excitation of photosensitive agents such as Rose Bengal (RB) dye after light illumination. Here, we performed a PT-induced brain ischemic model using a green laser and photosensitive agent RB and confirmed its efficiency through cellular, histological, and neurobehavioral approaches.
Methods:
Mice were randomly allocated into RB; Laser irradiation; and RB + Laser irradiation groups. Mice were exposed to a green laser at a wavelength of 532 nm and intensity of 150 mW in a mouse model after injection of RB under stereotactic surgery. The pattern of Hemorrhagic and ischemic changes were evaluated throughout the study. The volume of the lesion site was calculated using unbiased stereological methods. For investigation of neurogenesis, we performed double - (BrdU/NeuN) immunofluorescence (IF) staining on day 28 following the last- BrdU injection. To assess the effect and quality of ischemic stroke on neurological behavior, the Modified neurological severity score (mNSS) test was done on days 1, 7, 14, and 28 days after stroke induction.
Results:
Laser irradiation plus RB induced hemorrhagic tissue and pale ischemic changes over the 5 days. In the next few days, microscopic staining revealed neural tissue degeneration, demarcated necrotic site, and neuronal injury. BrdU staining showed a significant number of proliferating cells in the periphery of the lesion site in the Laser irradiation plus RB group compared to the group (p < 0.05) while the percent of NeuN+ cells per BrdU- positive cells was reduced. Also, prominent astrogliosis was observed in the periphery of irradiated sites on day 28. Neurological deficits were detected in mice from Laser irradiation plus the RB group. No histological or functional deficits were detected in RB and Laser irradiation groups.
Conclusions:
Taken together, our study showed cellular and histologic pathological changes which are associated with the PT induction model. Our findings indicated that the undesirable microenvironment and inflammatory conditions could affect neurogenesis concomitantly with functional deficits. Moreover, this research showed that this model is a focal, reproducible, noninvasive and accessible stroke model with a distinctive demarcation similar to human stroke conditions.
