Perilesional treatment with chondroitinase ABC and motor training promote functional recovery after stroke in rats.

Abstract

Ischemic stroke insults may lead to chronic functional limitations that adversely affect patient movements. Partial motor recovery is thought to be sustained by neuronal plasticity, particularly in areas close to the lesion site. It is still unknown if treatments acting exclusively on cortical plasticity of perilesional areas could result in behavioral amelioration. We tested whether enhancing plasticity in the ipsilesional cortex using local injections of chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) could promote recovery of skilled motor function in a focal cortical ischemia of forelimb motor cortex in rats. Using the skilled reaching test, we found that acute and delayed ChABC treatment induced recovery of impaired motor skills in treated rats. vGLUT1, vGLUT2, and vGAT staining indicated that functional recovery after acute ChABC treatment was associated with local plastic modification of the excitatory cortical circuitry positive for VGLUT2. ChABC effects on vGLUT2 staining were present only in rats undergoing behavioral training. Thus, the combination of treatments targeting the CSPG component of the extracellular matrix in perilesional areas and rehabilitation could be sufficient to enhance functional recovery from a focal stroke.

• Authors: Lisa Gherardini, Mariangela Gennaro, Tommaso Pizzorusso
• Journal: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) (Cereb Cortex) Vol. 25 Issue 1 Pg. 202-12 (Jan 2015) ISSN: 1460-2199 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23960208 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].

Chemical References

• Chondroitin ABC Lyase

Topics

• Animals
• Brain Ischemia (drug therapy, therapy)
• Chondroitin ABC Lyase (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Combined Modality Therapy
• Exercise Therapy
• Motor Cortex (drug effects, injuries, pathology)
• Neuronal Plasticity (drug effects)
• Rats
• Rats, Long-Evans
• Recovery of Function (drug effects)
• Stroke (drug therapy, therapy)
• Synapses (drug effects, metabolism)