Background and purpose: Blood-brain barrier disruption and consequent vasogenic edema formation codetermine the clinical course of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). This study examined the effect of PHA-543613, a novel α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, on blood-brain barrier preservation after ICH.
Methods: Male CD-1 mice, subjected to intrastriatal blood infusion, received PHA-543613 alone or in combination with α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist methyllycaconitine or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin.
Results: PHA-543613 alone, but not in combination with methyllycaconitine or wortmannin, inhibited glycogen synthase kinase-3β, thus, stabilizing β-catenin and tight junction proteins, which was paralleled by improved blood-brain barrier stability and ameliorated neurofunctional deficits in ICH animals.
Conclusions: PHA-543613 preserved blood-brain barrier integrity after ICH, possibly through phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt-induced inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3β and β-catenin stabilization.
Keywords: PHA-543613; blood–brain barrier; intracerebral hemorrhage; mice; α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.