Ischemic tolerance describes a phenomenon whereby subcritical stimuli evoke cellular protective mechanisms resulting in increased tolerance to subsequent
ischemia. In the present study we propose that the cytoprotective effects attributed to 17beta-estradiol and
tunicamycin in an in vivo rodent model of
ischemia are reflected by changes in neuronal tissue levels of
m-calpain, HSP70,
GRP94 and
GRP78. Rats pretreated with 17beta-estradiol,
tunicamycin or both demonstrated dose-dependent reductions in
infarct area following 4 h of permanent
middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Western blot analysis revealed that 4 h of MCAO was associated with decreased cortical expression of HSP70 and
m-calpain and increased expression of
GRP78. Pretreatment with 12.5 microg/kg 17beta-estradiol did not change this pattern of
protein expression following MCAO. While
GRP94 expression was elevated in
sham-operated rats pretreated with 17beta-estradiol, the ensuing ischemic tolerance did not appear to be mediated by changes in cellular
stress proteins. Pretreatment with 50 microg/kg
tunicamycin significantly reduced HSP70 in cortical tissue samples taken from
sham-operated rats and appeared to attenuate the threshold for activation of
m-calpain in rats undergoing 4 h of MCAO. Lastly, a combined treatment in which rats undergoing MCAO were pretreated with both
tunicamycin (24 h prior) and 17beta-estradiol (30 min prior) was associated with an attenuated stress response as indicated by reduced expression of
GRP78 and
GRP94 when compared to saline-treated controls. The results of this study suggest that the ischemic tolerance observed following MCAO in rats pretreated with either 17beta-estradiol or
tunicamycin is likely mediated in part through differential effects on cellular
stress proteins.