M. Mayne et al., Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression is neuroprotective after intracerebral hemorrhage, STROKE, 32(1), 2001, pp. 240-247
Background and Purpose-Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) expression i
s increased in brain after cerebral ischemia, although little is known abou
t its abundance and role in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). A TNF-alpha -sp
ecific antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ORF4-PE) was used to study the exten
t to which TNF-alpha expression influenced neurobehavioral outcomes and bra
in damage in a collagenase-induced ICH model in rat.
Methods-Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized, and ICH was induced by
intrastriatal administration of heparin and collagenase. Immediately before
or 3 hours after ICH induction, ORF4-PE was administered directly into the
site of ICH. TNF-alpha mRNA and protein levels were measured by reverse tr
anscriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunoblot analyses. Cell death w
as measured by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated uridine 5' tr
iphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL), Neurobehavioral deficits were
measured for 4 weeks after ICH.
Results-ICH induction (n=6) elevated TNF-alpha mRNA and protein levels (P<0
.01) at 24 hours after the onset of injury compared with sham controls (n=6
). Immunohistochemical labeling indicated that ICH was accompanied by eleva
ted expression of TNF-<alpha> in neutrophils, macrophages, and microglia. A
dministration of ORF4-PE (2.0 nmol) directly into striatal parenchyma, 15 m
inutes before (n=4) or 3 hours after (n=6) ICH, decreased levels of TNF-alp
ha mRNA (P<0.001) and protein (P<0.01) in the brain tissue surrounding the
hematoma compared with animals treated with saline alone (n=6). Mean+/-SEM
striatal cell death (cells per high-powered field) was also reduced in anim
als receiving ORF4-PE (34.1+/-5.0) compared with the saline-treated ICH gro
up (80.3+/-7.50) (P<0.001). ORF4-PE treatment improved neurobehavioral defi
cits observed at 24 hours (P<0.001) after induction of ICH (n=6) compared w
ith the untreated ICH group (n=6). This improvement was maintained at 28 da
ys after hemorrhage induction (P<0.001).
Conclusions-These results indicate a pathogenic role for TNF-<alpha> during
ICH and demonstrate that reducing TNF-alpha expression using antisense oli
godeoxynucleotides is neuroprotective.