Preferential injury of oligodendroblasts by a short hypoxic-ischemic insult

One-week-old rat pups were subjected to an acute 10 min severe hypoxic-isch emic insult. Over the next 24 h, during the reperfusion period, O4 immunocy tochemistry demonstrated that oligodendroblasts underwent degenerative chan ges that were coincident with induction of heme oxygenase. We suggest that the increased vulnerability of oligodendroblasts to oxidative stress follow ing an hypoxic-ischemic insult may contribute to the pathogenesis of perive ntricular leukomalacia. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.