Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 24, 2025
04:46
Author Spotlight: Innovative Techniques and Future Directions in Stroke Research
Published on: May 5, 2023
4.1K
The aging ovary impairs acute stroke outcomes
Taylor E Branyan1,2, Jocelyn Aleksa1, Esteban Lepe1
1Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Women's Health in Neuroscience Program, Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA.
Journal of Neuroinflammation
|July 5, 2023
Summary
In aging female rats, removing the ovaries improved stroke outcomes, contrary to expectations. This suggests the aging ovary may worsen stroke severity by releasing inflammatory immune cells.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Reproductive Biology
Background:
- Ovarian hormones are generally considered neuroprotective against stroke in adult females.
- Reproductively senescent (RS) females exhibit worse stroke outcomes than normally cycling females.
- The role of the aging ovary in stroke outcomes, particularly in RS females, remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of ovariectomy (OVX) on stroke outcomes in middle-aged, reproductively senescent (RS) female rats.
- To explore the immunological changes in the ovary and brain following stroke in RS rats.
- To determine if the aging ovary exacerbates stroke severity.
Main Methods:
- Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) model of stroke in adult OVX and ovary-intact RS rats.
- Assessment of sensory-motor function and infarct volume post-stroke.
- Flow cytometry analysis of immune cell populations (T cells, Tregs, M2 macrophages) in the ovary and brain.
Main Results:
- OVX RS rats exhibited significantly better sensory-motor function and reduced infarct volume compared to ovary-intact RS rats.
- The aging ovary showed decreased inflammatory cytokines and altered immune cell profiles (increased Tregs, M2 macrophages) post-stroke.
- OVX RS rats displayed increased Tregs and M2-like macrophages in the brain, correlating with better stroke prognosis.
Conclusions:
- Contrary to the neuroprotective role of ovarian hormones in young females, the aging ovary in RS females appears to exacerbate stroke severity.
- Depletion of ovary-resident immune cells after stroke, with increased anti-inflammatory cells in the brain of OVX rats, suggests a detrimental role of the aging ovary.
- These findings highlight the need to consider immunological changes in the aging ovary after stroke in female rodents.
Related Concept Videos
02:07Oogenesis
63.9K
In human women, oogenesis produces one mature egg cell or ovum for every precursor cell that enters meiosis. This process differs in two unique ways from the equivalent procedure of spermatogenesis in males. First, meiotic divisions during oogenesis are asymmetric, meaning that a large oocyte (containing most of the cytoplasm) and minor polar body are produced as a result of meiosis I, and again following meiosis II. Since only oocytes will go on to form embryos if fertilized, this unequal...
63.9K
01:27Regulation of Stroke Volume
3.3K
The regulation of stroke volume, which is the amount of blood the heart pumps out during each heartbeat, is critical for maintaining a healthy circulatory system. Stroke volume is influenced by three main factors: preload, contractility, and afterload.
Preload refers to the degree of stretch on the heart before it contracts. It's analogous to the stretching of a rubber band; the more it's stretched, the more forcefully it snaps back. This concept is encapsulated in the Frank-Starling law of the...
Preload refers to the degree of stretch on the heart before it contracts. It's analogous to the stretching of a rubber band; the more it's stretched, the more forcefully it snaps back. This concept is encapsulated in the Frank-Starling law of the...
3.3K
01:22Cardiac Output II: Effect of Stroke Volume on Cardiac Output
1.1K
Cardiac output (CO), the amount of blood the heart pumps per minute, is a parameter in cardiovascular physiology determined by stroke volume and heart rate. Stroke volume, the amount of blood pushed from one of the ventricles per heartbeat, is influenced by preload, afterload, and contractility.
Preload
Preload refers to the initial elongation of the cardiac myocytes before contraction and is related to the volume of blood filling the heart at the end of diastole, or end-diastolic volume. The...
Preload
Preload refers to the initial elongation of the cardiac myocytes before contraction and is related to the volume of blood filling the heart at the end of diastole, or end-diastolic volume. The...
1.1K