This document summarizes a study on the effects of an enriched environment on mitochondrial function and protein expression following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. The main objective was to observe mitochondrial changes after this type of brain injury in rats that lived in an enriched environment for two weeks. Methods included extracting proteins from rat cortex tissue to analyze via western blot and microscopy. Results showed differences in mitochondrial number and structure between sham rats and those in an enriched environment post-injury. The conclusion is that an enriched environment may help treat damage from ischemic brain injury by increasing mitochondria in the cortex, reducing oxidative stress.
2. Introduction ● Mitochondria primarily work to
generate cellular energy in the
form of ATP through oxidative
phosphorylation
● Moreover, it is widely understood
that mitochondrial homeostasis
plays a significant role in a broad
array of cellular functions and
signalling events.
3. Introduction ● An ischaemic incident in the brain
happens when the flow rate of
blood decreases in one area
● The possible reasons for this
event are:
○ blood clot (in a brain artery)
○ damage in blood vessels
○ tightening in vessels
● It causes the death of cells and
permanent malfunction of them
○ lack of nutrients
4. Main objective ● “The main goal of this article is to watch
the changes in the function and protein
expression of the mitochondria, after a
cerebral ischemia- reperfusion injury (the
rats lived two weeks in an enriched
environment)”
6. Methods
western blot
● The cortex proteins were extracted
and measured
● transferred to PVDF membranes
● major antibodies were
○ anti-PGC-1a
○ NRF-1
○ TFAM
○ COXIV
● loading control in this study was
GAPDH
7. Methods
microscopy
● The amount of mitochondria after
the ischemic-reperfusion was
counted
● The cortex subfield presents a lot
of changes between the groups of
rats
○ Sham
○ EE
○ SC
12. Discussion
Autor hypothesis correct?
Sims NR, Anderson
MF
“Mitochondrial contributions to tissue damage in
stroke”
Chen X, Zhang X,
Xue L, Hao C, Liao
W, Wan Q
“Treatment with Enriched Environment Reduces
Neuronal Apoptosis in the Peri-infarct Cortex after
Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury”
Jiang C, Yu K, Wu Y,
Xie H, Liu G, Wu J,
Jia J, Kuang S
“Enriched Environment Enhances Post stroke
Neurological Function Recovery on Rat”
13. conclusion ● The damage caused by an ischemic
event could be treated by an enriched
environment, because it increases the
number of mitochondrias (post
stroke) in the cortex. Therefore, the
oxidative stress could decrease
● Not only mitochondria produces ATP
for the metabolic request, but also
helps in the process of tissue
damage
