A novel population of α-smooth muscle actin-positive cells activated in a rat model of stroke: An analysis of the spatio-temporal distribution in response to ischemia

Abstract

In a rat model of stroke, the spatio-temporal distribution of α-smooth muscle actin-positive, (αSMA+) cells was investigated in the infarcted hemisphere (ipsilateral) and compared with the contralateral hemisphere. At day 3 postischemia, αSMA+ cells were concentrated in two main loci within the ipsilateral hemisphere (Area A) in the medial corpus callosum and (Area B) midway through the striatum adjacent to the lateral ventricle. By day 7 and further by day 14, fewer αSMA + cells remained in Areas A and B but a steady increase in the peri-infarct was observed. αSMA+ cells also expressed glial acidic fibrillary protein GFAP: αSMA+/GFAP (29%); αSMA+/GFAP (71%) phenotypes and feline leukemia vi..