Dynamic Detection of Specific Membrane Capacitance and Cytoplasmic Resistance of Neutrophils After Ischemic Stroke

Peripheral blood is the most readily available resource for stroke patient prognosis, but there is a lack of methods to detect dynamic changes of neutrophils in peripheral blood that can be used in the clinic. Herein, we developed a procedure to characterize dynamic changes of neutrophils based on their electrical properties in rats after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). We characterized the specific membrane capacitance (C_sm) and cytoplasmic resistance (σ_cyto) of approximately 27,600 neutrophils from MCAO rats 24 h after ischemia/reperfusion. We found that the C_sm and σ_cyto of neutrophils in the MCAO group were significantly higher compared to the sham group. Furthermore, we observed a monotonically upward shift in neutrophil Csm in the MCAO group during the four 5-minute test cycles. Our findings suggest that the dynamic changes of cellular electrical properties could reflect neutrophil activity and serve as a prognostic indicator for ischemic stroke in the clinical setting.