Mechanism of synapse change in region around cerebral infarction area of rats

AIM To investigate the vivid change of synapse and its molecular mechanisms in the region around the cerebral infarction area (area A) of the experimental rats. METHOD Respectively, after 7□14 and 28□of being made into experimental rat models of acute cerebral infarction, 120 rats were divided into 4 groups by chance: infarction□saline□inhibition and statin. The counts of astrocyte or synapse□the immunoreactivity of either glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) or synaptophysin and the cholesterol content were observed by immunohistochemistry staining and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the area A respectively. RESULTS At the 7d□the 14d or the 28□after the infarction model was made, either the optical density of either GFAP or synaptophysin immunoreactivity and the cholesterol contents in area A showed significantly higher in either the infarction or the saline than in the inhibition ( p< 0.01), and the optical density of synaptophysin and the cholesterol contents were significantly lower in the mevastatin than in either the rehabilitation or the saline ( p< 0.01). CONCLUSION The synapse vivid may depend greatly on the astrocyte activity and especially on its secretion of cholesterol in the area A of the experimental rat with acute cerebral infarction.