Long-term gene expression changes in the cortex following cortical ischemia revealed by transcriptional profiling

Cerebral ischemia evokes changes in gene expression time-dependently after the ischemic event. Most studies on transcriptional changes following ischemia have centered on relatively early postischemic time points, and detected multiple genes relevant to neuronal cell death. However, functional outcome after ischemia depends critically on adaptations of the postischemic brain. Plasticity may derive from network-inherent changes, or from the formation of new nerve cells in the CNS. We have screened for gene expression changes up to 3 weeks following a limited photothrombotic cortical insult in the rat sensorimotor cortex by using the sensitive restriction-mediated differential display (RMDD) …