Figure 2

r-PGRN treatment reduces cerebral infarct volume and brain edema in transient focal cerebral ischemia. (A) Protocol for surgery and r-PGRN administration. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections of either vehicle or r-PGRN (0.1 to 1.0 ng) were administered 2 h after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). All assessments, with the exception of survival rate evaluation, were performed at 24 h after the induction of 2 h of transient MCAO. (B) Representative photograph showing TTC staining of coronal brain sections 24 h after MCAO in each treatment group. (C) Administration of 1 ng of r-PGRN significantly reduced the infarct volume, (D) and reduced brain edema, compared to the vehicle treatment. Although the 0.1 ng r-PGRN- and 0.3 ng r-PGRN-treated groups tended to experience reduced infarct volume and brain edema, the difference was not statistically significant. * P <0.05 vs. vehicle-treated group; one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett's test; n = 6 to n = 8 for each group. (E) Only the 1.0 ng r-PGRN-treated group had significantly better neurological function at 24 h after MCAO than at 2 h after MCAO. # P <0.05; Wilcoxon signed-rank test. (F) A higher survival rate was observed throughout the follow-up period in the 1.0 ng r-PGRN-treated group. In contrast, a continuous reduction of the survival rate was observed in the vehicle-treated group. The difference between the groups was statistically significant. † P <0.05; Log-rank test; n = 9 or n =10 for each group. r-PGRN, recombinant-progranulin.