LAMININ PEPTIDE AMELIORATES BRAIN INJURY BY INHIBITING LEUKOCYTE ACCUMULATION IN A RAT MODEL OF TRANSIENT FOCAL CEREBRAL-ISCHEMIA

Postischemic cerebral inflammation has been reported to contribute to ischemic brain damage. During inflammation, constituents of the extrac ellular matrix such as fibronectin and laminin are recognized by certa in integrins or proteoglycans and play an important role in the cell a dhesion process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficac y of peptides derived from laminin on leukocyte accumulation, infarct size, and neurological outcome in rats subjected to 1 h of cerebral is chemia and 48 h of reperfusion. Forty-four animals were included in th is study: transient ischemia without treatment (Group I), treatment wi th TG-1 peptide (Group II), GD-1 peptide (Group III), and GD-6 peptide (Group IV). Group II showed a significant reduction of the leukocyte accumulation (p < 0.001) and infarct size (p = 0.015) when compared wi th Group I. The neurological grade of Group LI was also significantly better than in Group I at 48 h after reperfusion (p = 0.012). Based on these data, which are the first to explore the therapeutic potential of this peptide in cerebral ischemia, laminin peptide may offer a nove l therapeutic approach to allaying injury in ischemic stroke.