Pharmacological investigations on possible role of Src kinases in neuroprotective mechanism of ischemic postconditioning in mice

The present study has been undertaken to investigate the possible role of Src Kinases in a neuroprotective mechanism of ischemic postconditioning in mice. Bilateral carotid artery occlusion for 12 min followed by reperfusion for 24 h produced a significant increase in cerebral infarct size and neurological severity score along with impairment of memory and motor coordination. Ischemic postconditioning involving three episodes of 10 s carotid artery occlusion with intermittent reperfusion of 10 s proceeding ischemic insult of 12 min, produced a significant decrease in cerebral infarct size and neurological severity score along with reversal of ischemia-reperfusion induced impairment of memory and motor coordination. Ischemic postconditioning induced neuroprotective effects were significantly attenuated by pre-treatment of selective Src Kinase inhibitors SU-6656 (4 mg/kg i.p.) and PP1 (0.2 mg/kg i.p.). It may be concluded that the neuroprotective effect of ischemic postconditioning probably involves activation of Src Kinase pathway.