Microglial activation and brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage

Abstract

Microglial activation and thrombin formation contribute to brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) are 2 major proinflammatory cytokines. In this study, we investigated whether thrombin stimulates TNF-a and IL-1β secretion in vitro, and whether microglial inhibition reduces ICH-induced brain injury in vivo. There were 2 parts to this study. In the first part, cultured rat microglial cells were treated with vehicle, thrombin (5 and 10U/mL), or thrombin plus tuftsin (0.05 mg/mL), an inhibitor of microglia activation. Levels of TNF-a and IL-1β in culture medium were measured by ELISA at 4, 8, and 24 h after thrombin treatment. In the second part of the study, rats received an intracerebral infusion of 100 μL autologous whole blood with or without 25 μg of tuftsin 1-3 fragment. Rats were killed at day 1 or day 3 for immunohistochemistry and brain water content measurement. We found that thrombin receptors were expressed in cultured microglia cells, and TNF-a and IL-1β levels in the culture medium were increased after thrombin treatment. Tuftsin reduced thrombin-induced upregulation of TNF-a and IL-1β. In vivo, microglia were activated after ICH, and intracerebral injection of tuftsin reduced brain edema in the ipsilateral basal ganglia (81.1 ± 0.7% vs. 82.7 ± 1.3% in vehicle-treated group; p < 0.05) after ICH. These results suggest a critical role of microglia activation in ICH-related brain injury. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.