Inducing Ischemia via Middle Cerebral and Common Carotid Artery Occlusion in a Rat Model

Abstract

Source: Wayman, C. et al., Performing Permanent Distal Middle Cerebral with Common Carotid Artery Occlusion in Aged Rats to Study Cortical Ischemia with Sustained Disability. J. Vis. Exp. (2016)

This video demonstrates the procedure of performing permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion, or MCAO, with the common carotid artery, or CCA ligation, in aged rats to model ischemic stroke. This blocks blood flow to the brain, leading to neuronal death and generating a model to study stroke mechanisms and potential treatments.

Protocol

All procedures involving animal models have been reviewed by the local institutional animal care committee and the JoVE veterinary review board.

1. Surgery

1. Use female elderly Lister-Hooded rats at 16-18 months (250 to 400 g) and induce anesthesia with 5% isoflurane in 1.5 L/min O₂. Following induction of anesthesia, reduce the level of isoflurane and maintain it at an adequate but minimized depth for surgery (e.g., 1.5-2%). Deliver anesthesia to the animal by a face mask, and use a scavenging system to limit the surgeon's exposure to isoflurane.
   1. Perform all procedures up to, but n....

Results

Figure 1. Surgical setup of the permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion model. The equipment used in the setup for the rat craniotomy is shown for the right hemisphere, and inset, the positioning of the aspirator, and saline drip around th.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Carprofen	Norbrook	Vm No; 02000/4229	give 0.25 mg/kg
Atropine Sulfate	AmTech	RXATRINJ-100
Alcohol swabs	UHS	20021
Lidocaine cream (Emla)	AstraZeneca	12901	Apply a pea sized drop to the shaved neck and temporal regions
Homeothermic Blanket System	Harvard Instruments	507222F
Forceps	Fine Science Tools	11019-12
Isoflurane	Abbott	B506
Silk sutures	Harvard Apparatus	723288
Cautery system	Eschmann
0.25 mm Jeweler caurtery forceps	Eschmann	8330349
fine Dumont forceps	Fine Science Tools	11251-10
Thumb driven saline drip system
Vacusafe aspirator system	INTEGRA BIOSCIENCES	158320
16 mm coarse diamond coated Steel burrs		K801 104 016
Handheld dental drill	NSK	NSKVMAXVRE (Handpiece NSKEX6B)
Vannas Spring Scissors	Fine Science Tools	15000-03
Microvascular scissors	World Precision Instruments	501790
4-0 Vicryl sutures	Ethicon
Vascular clip and applicator
Operating microscope	Zeiss
Compact Anaesthesia System Isoflurane K/F Single Gas	VetTech Solutions
Carbon Steel Scalpel blades No. 10	Swann-Morton	201
25g needles	Terumo	NN-2525R
Syringes (1 ml and 5 ml)	Terumo	SS+01T1 / SS*05SE1
Saline (Sodium Chloride 0.9%)	Fresenius Kabi	Pl 08828/0178
Cotton buds	Johnson and Johnson	5.00021E+12	sterilize before use
Gauze			sterilize before use