Red Blood Cell Lysis and Brain Tissue-Type Transglutaminase Upregulation in a Hippocampal Model of Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Red blood cell (RBC) lysis and iron release contribute to intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)-induced brain injury. Tissue-type transglutaminase (tTG), which has a role in neurodegeneration, is upregulated after ICH. The current study investigated the effect of RBC lysis and iron release on brain tTG levels and neuronal death in a rat model of ICH. This study had three parts: (1) Male Sprague-Dawley rats received an intrahippocampal injection of 10 μL of either packed RBCs or lysed RBCs; (2) rats had a 10 μL injection of either saline, hemoglobin or FeCl2; (3) rats received a 10 μL injection of hemoglobin and were treated with an iron chelator, deferoxamine or vehicle. All rats were killed 24 h later, and the brains were sectioned for tTG and Fluoro-Jade C staining. Lysed but not packed RBCs caused marked tTG upregulation (p < 0.05) and neuronal death (p < 0.05) in the ipsilateral hippocampus CA-1 region. Both hemoglobin and iron mimicked the effects of lysed RBCs, resulting in tTG expression and neuronal death (p < 0.05). Hemoglobin-induced tTG upreglution and neuronal death were reduced by deferoxamine (p < 0.05). These results indicate that RBC lysis and iron toxicity contribute to neurodegeneration after ICH.