In this study, a rat model of transient focal cerebral ischemia was established by performing 100 minutes of middle cerebral artery occlusion, and an in vitro model of experimental oxygen-glucose deprivation using cultured rat cortical neurons was established. Proprotein convertase 2 activity gradually decreased in the ischemic cortex with increasing duration of reperfusion. In cultured rat cortical neurons, the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2'-deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling-positive neurons significantly increased and proprotein convertase 2 activity also decreased gradually with increasing duration of oxygen-glucose deprivation. These experimental findings indicate that proprotein convertase 2 activity decreases in ischemic rat cortex after reperfusion, as well as in cultured rat cortical neurons after oxygen-glucose deprivation. These changes in enzyme activity may play an important pathological role in brain injury.
Keywords: brain injury; cerebral ischemia/reperfusion; cortex; grants-supported paper; in vitro study; in vivo study; neural regeneration; neuron; neuroregeneration; oxygen-glucose deprivation; photographs-containing paper; proprotein convertase 2.