Relationship between change of hypoxic tissue and vascular proliferation after cerebral infarction in rats

AIM: To clarify the relationship between the change of hypoxic tissue and vascular proliferation after cerebral infarction. METHODS: Rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion were randomly divided into 1.5 h ischemia-reperfusion (1.5 h IR) group and permanent ischemia (PI) group. Double staining by immunofluorescence was used to identify the hypoxic tissue and microvessels by EF5 and vWF labelings, respectively. On 3 d, 7 d and 14 d post-operation, microvessel density (MVD) and hypoxic tissue in ischemic cortex were observed. RESULTS: Hypoxic tissues existed from 3 d to 14 d post-operation in 1.5 h IR group and disappeared after 3 d in PI group. The MVD within hypoxic tissue was smaller than that around it at all observed time points (all P<0.01). With the lapse of time, MVD in ischemic cortex gradually increased both in 1.5 IR and PI groups (all P<0.01) and was bigger in 1.5 h IR group than that in PI group on 7 d and 14 d (both P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Hypoxic tissues mainly locate in areas of sparse microvessel after cerebral infarction and their duration is partially dependent on the grade of microvessel proliferation in ischemic cortex.