TY - JOUR A1 - Schanbacher, Constanze A1 - Bieber, Michael A1 - Reinders, Yvonne A1 - Cherpokova, Deya A1 - Teichert, Christina A1 - Nieswandt, Bernhard A1 - Sickmann, Albert A1 - Kleinschnitz, Christoph A1 - Langhauser, Friederike A1 - Lorenz, Kristina T1 - ERK1/2 activity is critical for the outcome of ischemic stroke JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - Ischemic disorders are the leading cause of death worldwide. The extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) are thought to affect the outcome of ischemic stroke. However, it is under debate whether activation or inhibition of ERK1/2 is beneficial. In this study, we report that the ubiquitous overexpression of wild-type ERK2 in mice (ERK2\(^{wt}\)) is detrimental after transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (tMCAO), as it led to a massive increase in infarct volume and neurological deficits by increasing blood–brain barrier (BBB) leakiness, inflammation, and the number of apoptotic neurons. To compare ERK1/2 activation and inhibition side-by-side, we also used mice with ubiquitous overexpression of the Raf-kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP\(^{wt}\)) and its phosphorylation-deficient mutant RKIP\(^{S153A}\), known inhibitors of the ERK1/2 signaling cascade. RKIP\(^{wt}\) and RKIP\(^{S153A}\) attenuated ischemia-induced damages, in particular via anti-inflammatory signaling. Taken together, our data suggest that stimulation of the Raf/MEK/ERK1/2-cascade is severely detrimental and its inhibition is rather protective. Thus, a tight control of the ERK1/2 signaling is essential for the outcome in response to ischemic stroke. KW - ERK1/2 KW - tMCAO KW - ischemic stroke KW - RKIP Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-283991 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 23 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bieber, Michael A1 - Foerster, Kathrin I. A1 - Haefeli, Walter E. A1 - Pham, Mirko A1 - Schuhmann, Michael K. A1 - Kraft, Peter T1 - Treatment with edoxaban attenuates acute stroke severity in mice by reducing blood–brain barrier damage and inflammation JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - Patients with atrial fibrillation and previous ischemic stroke (IS) are at increased risk of cerebrovascular events despite anticoagulation. In these patients, treatment with non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOAC) such as edoxaban reduced the probability and severity of further IS without increasing the risk of major bleeding. However, the detailed protective mechanism of edoxaban has not yet been investigated in a model of ischemia/reperfusion injury. Therefore, in the current study we aimed to assess in a clinically relevant setting whether treatment with edoxaban attenuates stroke severity, and whether edoxaban has an impact on the local cerebral inflammatory response and blood–brain barrier (BBB) function after experimental IS in mice. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in male mice receiving edoxaban, phenprocoumon or vehicle. Infarct volumes, functional outcome and the occurrence of intracerebral hemorrhage were assessed. BBB damage and the extent of local inflammatory response were determined. Treatment with edoxaban significantly reduced infarct volumes and improved neurological outcome and BBB function on day 1 and attenuated brain tissue inflammation. In summary, our study provides evidence that edoxaban might exert its protective effect in human IS by modulating different key steps of IS pathophysiology, but further studies are warranted. KW - edoxaban KW - thrombo-inflammation KW - blood–brain barrier KW - tMCAO KW - experimental stroke KW - hemorrhagic transformation KW - NOAC Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284481 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 22 IS - 18 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Franke, Maximilian A1 - Bieber, Michael A1 - Stoll, Guido A1 - Schuhmann, Michael Klaus T1 - Validity and Efficacy of Methods to Define Blood Brain Barrier Integrity in Experimental Ischemic Strokes: A Comparison of Albumin Western Blot, IgG Western Blot and Albumin Immunofluorescence JF - Methods and Protocols N2 - The clinical and preclinical research of ischemic strokes (IS) is becoming increasingly comprehensive, especially with the emerging evidence of complex thrombotic and inflammatory interactions. Within these, the blood brain barrier (BBB) plays an important role in regulating the cellular interactions at the vascular interface and is therefore the object of many IS-related questions. Consequently, valid, economic and responsible methods to define BBB integrity are necessary. Therefore, we compared the three ex-vivo setups albumin Western blot (WB), IgG WB and albumin intensity measurement (AIM) with regard to validity as well as temporal and economic efficacy. While the informative value of the three methods correlated significantly, the efficacy of the IgG WB dominated. KW - IgG KW - albumin KW - immunohistochemistry KW - Western blot KW - stroke KW - tMCAO KW - blood brain barrier KW - neuroinflammation Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-234214 SN - 2409-9279 VL - 4 IS - 1 ER -