Failure of 2'-deoxycoformycin to protect against transient forebrain ischemia in rat

We determined whether 2'-deoxycoformycin (DCF), a potent highly specific inhibitor of adenosine deaminase (ADA), protected against transient forebrain ischemic neuronal injury in rat. Anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats received i.p. injections of either saline, 0.5 mg/kg or 5 mg/kg DCF 2 h before undergoing a 10-min forebrain ischemic insult induced by bilateral carotid artery occlusion with concomitant hypotension. Rat brain sections taken 7 days post-ischemia showed damage mostly in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Quantification of neuronal injury showed no significant differences between saline- or DCF-treated rats. These results indicate that, contrary to previous reports, DCF does not protect against the neuronal damage that follows forebrain ischemia in rat.