High matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression induces angiogenesis and basement membrane degradation in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats after cerebral infarction

Basement membrane degradation and blood-brain barrier damage appear after cerebral infarction, severely impacting neuronal and brain functioning; however, the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we induced cerebral infarction in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats by intragastric administration of high-sodium water (1.3% NaCl) for 7 consecutive weeks. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence assays demonstrated that, compared with the non-infarcted contralateral hemisphere, stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats on normal sodium intake and Wistar-Kyoto rats, matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression, the number of blood vessels with discontinuous collagen IV expression and microvessel density were significantly higher, and the number of continuous collagen IV-positive blood vessels was lower in the infarct border zones of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats given high-sodium water. Linear correlation analysis showed matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression was positively correlated with the number of discontinuously collagen IV-labeled blood vessels and microvessel density in cerebral infarcts of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. These results suggest that matrix metalloproteinase-9 upregulation is associated with increased regional angiogenesis and degradation of collagen IV, the major component of the basal lamina, in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats with high-sodium water-induced focal cerebral infarction.