REGIONAL GENERATION OF LEUKOTRIENE C-4 AFTER EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN INJURY IN ANESTHETIZED RATS

Regional concentrations of leukotriene C-4 and extravasation of Evans blue were measured after lateral fluid-percussion brain injury in rats . Tissue levels of LTC(4) were elevated in the injured cortex at 10 mi n, 30 min, and 1 h after injury; these levels returned to normal by 2 h after injury. Increases in the levels of LTC(4) were also observed i n the ipsilateral hippocampus after brain injury, and these elevations persisted for 2 h after injury, No significant increase in levels of LTC(4) was observed in the contralateral cortex at any time after inju ry, A substantial extravasation of Evans blue was observed only in the ipsilateral cortex and hippocampus at 3 h and 6 h after brain injury. Although a temporal association between LTC(4) and brood-brain barrie r (BBB) breakdown is suggested by these data, no cause-and-effect rela tionship has been addressed in this study. However, it is possible tha t, as is true for cerebral ischemia, LTC(4) may play a role as a media tor in the BBB breakdown associated with fluid-percussion brain injury in rats.