Selective downregulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) rather than non-NMDAR subunits in ipsilateral cerebral hemispheres in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion

Ischemic brain damage is believed to involve the drastic increase in extracellular glutamate levels after reperfusion and subsequent overactivation of both N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor (NMDAR) and non-NMDAR channels for delayed neuronal cell death mediated by Ca ²⁺ overload. In this study, we evaluated expression profiles of mRNA and corresponding proteins for different subunits of NMDAR and non-NMDAR in brains of rats with transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Cellular vitality was markedly reduced in proportion to increasing durations of MCAO for 1 to 8 h when determined 1 day after reperfusion. Within 7 days after reperfusion, MCAO for 2 h led to a gradual decrease in the neuronal marker microtubules-associated protein-2 (MAP2) level in the ipsilateral cerebral hemisphere, in addition to inducing a transient increase in the microglial marker CD11b expression without affecting the astroglial marker protein levels. MCAO for 2 h significantly decreased the expression of both mRNA and corresponding proteins for NR1, NR2A and NR2B subunits of NMDAR, but not for non-NMDAR subunits, in the ipsilateral hemisphere. These results suggest that NMDAR may be preferentially down-regulated in response to ischemic signal inputs amongst three different subtypes of ionotropic glutamate receptors in rats with MCAO.