Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Neovascularization in the Cerebral Cortex of the Ovine Fetus

Information is limited regarding the effects of injury on neovascularization in the immature brain. We investigated effects of ischemia on cerebral cortical neovascularization after exposure of fetuses to 30 minutes of cerebral ischemia and 48- (I/R-48) or 72- (I/R-72) hours of reperfusion or sham-control treatment (Non-I/R). Immunohistochemical and morphometric analyses of cerebral cortical sections included immunostaining for glial fibrillary acidic protein and collagen type IV (Coll IV), a molecular component of the vascular basal lamina, to determine the glial-vascular network in fetal brains, and Ki67 as a proliferation marker. Cerebral cortices from I/R-48 and I/R-72 fetuses exhibited general responses to ischemia, including reactive astrocyte morphology, which was not observed in Non-I/R fetuses. Cell bodies of reactive, proliferating astrocytes along with large end-feet surrounded walls of cerebral cortical microvessels in addition to the thick Coll IV-enriched basal lamina. Morphometric analysis of Non-I/R with I/R-48 and I/R-72 groups revealed increased Coll IV density in I/R-72 cerebral cortical microvessels (p < 0.01), which also frequently displayed a sprouting appearance, characterized by growing tip cells and activated pericytes. Increases in cerebral cortical basic fibroblast growth factor were associated with neovascularization. We conclude that increased neovascularization occurs within 72 hours after ischemia in fetal cerebral cortices.