Effects of Ischemic Post-Conditioning on the Expressions of LC3-II and Beclin-1 in the Hippocampus of Rats After Cerebral Ischemia and Reperfusion

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of postconditioning ischemia on the expressions of the hippocampus neuron autophagy-related proteins LC3-II and Beclin-1 in rats following cerebral ischemia reperfusion. METHODS: A total of 128 male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (IR), cerebral ischemia post-conditioning group (IP), and PI3K/Akt inhibitor (LY294002). The rat cerebral ischemia model was established by the improved Pulsinelli four vessel occlusion method. The durations across the platform and escape latent period were recorded using the water maze experiment. The changes in cell morphology and the number of surviving hippocampal neurons were detected by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The cells with Beclin-1 and LC3-II in the hippocampal region were detected by immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting. RESULTS: When compared with the IR at 48 and 72 h, the number of platform passes increased and the escape latency time was shortened. Consequently, the HE staining detected positive cells with LC3-II and Beclin-1 increased in number at each time point in immunohistochemistry and the expressions of the LC3-II and Beclin-1 proteins were improved in the IP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cerebral ischemic post-conditioning promoted the expressions of autophagy-related proteins LC3-II and Beclin-1 while relieving the injuries caused by cerebral ischemia reperfusion.