Matrix metalloproteinase 2 gene knockout has no effect on... : NeuroReport (original) (raw)

Neuropharmacology And Neurotoxicology

Matrix metalloproteinase 2 gene knockout has no effect on acute brain injury after focal ischemia

Asahi, Minoru; Sumii, Toshihisa; Fini, M. Elizabeth1; Itohara, Shigeyoshi2; Lo, Eng H.CA

Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, MGH East 149-2322 Charlestown, MA 02129; 1Vision Research Laboratories, New England Eye Center, Tufts University, USA; 2Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Japan

CACorresponding Author

Received 5 July 2001; accepted 23 July 2001

Abstract

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may contribute to tissue damage after cerebral ischemia. In this study, wildtype and MMP-2 knockout mice were subjected to permanent and transient (2 h) occlusions of the middle cerebral artery. Gelatin zymography showed that MMP-9 levels were increased in all brains after ischemia. MMP-2 levels did not show a significant increase in wildtype mice, and were not detectable in knockout mice. Laser doppler flowmetry demonstrated equivalent ischemic reductions in perfusion in wildtype and knockout mice. In both permanent and transient occlusion paradigms, there were no statistically significant differences between wildtype and knockout mice in terms of 24 h ischemic lesion volumes. These data suggest that MMP-2 does not contribute to acute tissue damage in this model of focal ischemia.