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. 2012 Jan 25;28(1):61–68. doi: 10.1007/s12264-012-1063-7

Aquaporin-4 deficiency attenuates acute lesions but aggravates delayed lesions and microgliosis after cryoinjury to mouse brain

Wen-Zhen Shi 1, Chun-Zhen Zhao 1, Bing Zhao 1, Xiao-Liang Zheng 1, San-Hua Fang 1, Yun-Bi Lu 1, Wei-Ping Zhang 1, Zhong Chen 1, Er-Qing Wei 1,✉
PMCID: PMC5560290  PMID: 22233890

Abstract

Objective

To determine whether aquaporin-4 (AQP4) regulates acute lesions, delayed lesions, and the associated microglial activation after cryoinjury to the brain.

Methods

Brain cryoinjury was applied to AQP4 knockout (KO) and wild-type mice. At 24 h and on days 7 and 14 after cryoinjury, lesion volume, neuronal loss, and densities of microglia and astrocytes were determined, and their changes were compared between AQP4 KO and wild-type mice.

Results

Lesion volume and neuronal loss in AQP4 KO mice were milder at 24 h following cryoinjury, but worsened on days 7 and 14, compared to those in wild-type mice. Besides, microglial density increased more, and astrocyte proliferation and glial scar formation were attenuated on days 7 and 14 in AQP4 KO mice.

Conclusion

AQP4 deficiency ameliorates acute lesions, but worsens delayed lesions, perhaps due to the microgliosis in the late phase.

Keywords: aquaporin-4, gene deficiency, cryoinjury, microglia, astrocyte

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