ABSTRACT: The neuropeptide pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is considered to be a potential therapeutic agent for prevention of cerebral ischemia. Ischemia is a most common cause of death after heart attack and cancer causing major negative social and economic consequences. - This study was designed to investigate the effect of PACAP38 injection intracerebroventrically in a mouse model of permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (PMCAO) along with corresponding sham control that used 0.9% saline injection. Ischemic and non-ischemic brain tissues were sampled at 6 and 24 hours post-treatment. - Following behavioral analyses to confirm whether the ischemia has occurred, we investigated the genome-wide changes in gene and protein expresison using DNA microarray chip (4x44K, Agilent) and one-/two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (1-/2-DGE) coupled with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), respectively. - Our results revealed numerous changes in the transcriptome of ischemic (ipsilateral) hemisphere treated with PACAP38 over the saline-injected SHAM control hemisphere. In parallel, 2-DGE analysis revealed a highly expressed protein spot in the ischemic region that was identified as dihydropyrimidinase-related protein 2 (DPYL2). The DPYL2, also known as Crmp2, is a marker for the activated neuronal defense mechanisms, and interestingly, PACAP strongly suppresed this induction. - This study provides the first inventory of PACAP influenced gene and protein targets in ischemic hemisphere, and provides new targets for thereaupetic interventions. The PMCAO model mice were generated as described previously. Briefly, the mice were anesthetized with 4% sevoflurane (induction) and 2% sevoflurane (maintenance) in a 30% O2 and 70% N2O gas mixture via a face mask. An incision was then made in the cervical skin followed by opening of the salivary gland, and the right common carotid artery was visualized. A midline cervical incision was made to expose the external carotid artery. The intraluminal filament technique was used, to generate the PMCAO model. - The PACAP38 (1 M-BM-5l containing 1 pmol) or 1 M-BM-5l of saline (0.9% NaCl) was injected intracerebroventrically, immediately after PMCAO. PACAP38 (Peptide Institute Inc., Osaka, Japan; supplier temperature was -20M-BM-:C and was stored at -80M-BM-:C) was dissolved in, and diluted M-CM-^W10 times with 0.9% NaCl just before use. - In the sham control animals, following exposure of the external carotid artery, the wound was sutured. The PACAP38 or saline was injected intracerebroventrically in the same concentrations as above. After injections, the animals were returned to their cages. - A total of eight groups were prepared: four groups of three, seven, four and five mice in the PMCAO plus PACAP38 and PMCAO plus saline cohorts at 6 and 24 h after operation, respectively, and five mice each in the control (sham) plus PACAP and saline groups at 6 and 24 h after operation, respectively. - We used three mice each in PMCAO groups that exhibited neurological grades G1 and G2 and three mice each at random in sham groups for the subsequent downstream analysis. Six or 24 hours post-injection of PACAP38 or saline, the mice were removed from their cages, decapitated, and their brains carefully removed on ice. The left (contralateral) and right (ipsilateral; ischemic) hemispheres were dissected and placed in 2 mL Eppendorf tubes, which were then quickly immersed in liquid nitrogen before being stored in -80M-BM-:C prior to further analysis. - For analysis of gene components, the tissues were ground to a very fine powder with liquid nitrogen, used for total RNA extraction, quantity and quality check, followed by cDNA synthesis, and RT-PCR. A mouse 4 x 44K whole genome oligo DNA microarray chip (G4122F, Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, USA) was used for global gene expression analysis using the ipsilateral (ischemic) hemisphere. Briefly, total RNA (900 ng; 300 ng each replicate pooled together) was labeled with either Cy3 or Cy5 dye using an Agilent Low RNA Input Fluorescent Linear Amplification Kit (Agilent). Fluorescently labeled targets of control (sham) as well as treated (PMCAO) samples with PACAP38 or without PACAP38 (saline) were hybridized to the same microarray slide with 60-mer probes. - Here, we compared the PMCAO plus PACAP38 injected mice to PMCAO plus saline, i.e. the ipsilateral brain region of the PMCAO mice was compared with the same right hemisphere of the control mice. Similarly, Sham control plus PACAP38 injected mice to Sham control plus saline were analyzed to identify only the PACAP38 influenced genes. A flip labeling (dye-swap or reverse labeling with Cy3 and Cy5 dyes) procedure was followed to nullify the dye bias associated with unequal incorporation of the two Cy dyes into cDNA.
