Concanavalin A binding by the hippocampal neurons following brief cerebral ischemia in gerbils

Twenty two Mongolian gerbils after 5 min bilateral carotid artery occlusion and 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 94 hours and 5 days survival were investigated for the neuronal changes in dorsal hippocampus. Paraffin sections were stained with cresyl-violet and marked by their binding of Concanavalin A (Con A) labelled with peroxidase. The degeneration and neuronal loss was observed only in CA1 sectors in almost all experimental groups, whereas the decreased binding of Con A by the neurons of CA1 sector corresponded to the intensity of histologic changes but appeared also only in this sector even without any histological changes. These observation can point at the subthreshold damage of CA1 neurons as result of either diminished supply or increased metabolism of d-glucose, or diminished number of Con A receptors or changes of their specificity after ischemic period.