Treatment of Ischemic Stroke by Atorvastatin-Loaded PEGylated Liposome

AbstractThere is insufficient evidence on the effect of nanoparticles, particularly liposomes loaded with a statin, on acute ischemic stroke. We investigated the impact of atorvastatin-loaded PEG (polyethylene glycol) conjugated liposomes (LipoStatin) on the outcomes in rats with cerebral ischemia –reperfusion. PEGylated liposome loaded with atorvastatin was developed as a nanoparticle to specifically accumulate in an ischemic region and release the drug to ameliorate the harmful effects of the stroke. LipoStatin was administered to rats with transient middle cerebral artery occlusion throu gh the tail vein immediately after reperfusion (LipoStatin group). LipoStatin efficiently accumulated at the cerebral ischemic injury site of the rat. The LipoStatin group showed a significantly reduced infarct volume (p <  0.01) in brain micro-MR imaging and improved neurological function recovery compared to the control group (p <  0.05). In addition, markedly improved brain metabolism using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose micro-PET/CT imaging was demonstrated in the LipoStatin group compared with the control group (p <  0.01). Mechanistically, as a result of evaluation through IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, ICAM-1, and Iba-1 mRNA expression levels at 5 days after cerebral ischemia, LipoStatin showed significant anti-inflammatory effects. Protein expression of occludin, JAM-A, Caveolin-1, and eNOS by western blot at 3 d ays and fluorescent images at 7 days showed consider...
Source: Translational Stroke Research - Category: Neurology Source Type: research