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Background
The role of the immune system in the pathophysiology of acute ischemic stroke is increasingly recognized. However, targeted treatment strategies to modulate immunological pathways in stroke are still lacking. Glatiramer acetate is a multifaceted immunomodulator approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Experimental studies suggest that glatiramer acetate might also work in other neuroinflammatory or neurodegenerative diseases apart from multiple sclerosis.
Findings
We evaluated the efficacy of glatiramer acetate in a mouse model of brain ischemia/reperfusion injury. 60 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion was induced in male C57Bl/6 mice. Pretreatment with glatiramer acetate (3.5 mg/kg bodyweight) 30 min before the induction of stroke did not reduce lesion volumes or improve functional outcome on day 1.
Conclusions
Glatiramer acetate failed to protect from acute ischemic stroke in our hands. Further studies are needed to assess the true therapeutic potential of glatiramer acetate and related immunomodulators in brain ischemia.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces a strong inflammatory response which includes blood-brain barrier damage, edema formation and infiltration of different immune cell subsets. More recently, microvascular thrombosis has been identified as another pathophysiological feature of TBI. The contact-kinin system represents an interface between inflammatory and thrombotic circuits and is activated in different neurological diseases. C1-Inhibitor counteracts activation of the contact-kinin system at multiple levels. We investigated the therapeutic potential of C1-Inhibitor in a model of TBI. Male and female C57BL/6 mice were subjected to cortical cryolesion and treated with C1-Inhibitor after 1 h. Lesion volumes were assessed between day 1 and day 5 and blood-brain barrier damage, thrombus formation as well as the local inflammatory response were determined post TBI. Treatment of male mice with 15.0 IU C1-Inhibitor, but not 7.5 IU, 1 h after cryolesion reduced lesion volumes by ~75% on day 1. This protective effect was preserved in female mice and at later stages of trauma. Mechanistically, C1-Inhibitor stabilized the blood-brain barrier and decreased the invasion of immune cells into the brain parenchyma. Moreover, C1-Inhibitor had strong antithrombotic effects. C1-Inhibitor represents a multifaceted anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic compound that prevents traumatic neurodegeneration in clinically meaningful settings.