Microglial Activation and Neurological Outcomes in a Murine Model of Cardiac Arrest.

Background: Neurological injury following successful resuscitation from sudden cardiac arrest (CA) is common. The pathophysiological basis of this injury remains poorly understood, and treatment options are limited. Microglial activation and neuroinflammation are established contributors to many neuropathologies, such as Alzheimer disease and traumatic brain injury, but their potential role in post-CA injury has only recently been recognized. Here, we hypothesize that microglial activation that occurs following brief asystolic CA is associated with neurological injury and represents a potential therapeutic target.

Methods: Adult C57BL/6 male and female mice were randomly assigned to 12-min, KCl-induced asystolic CA, under anesthesia and ventilation, followed by successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation (n = 19) or sham intervention (n = 11). Neurological assessments of mice were performed using standardized neurological scoring, video motion tracking, and sensory/motor testing. Mice were killed at 72 h for histological studies; neuronal degeneration was assessed using Fluoro-Jade C staining. Microglial characteristics were assessed by immunohistochemistry using the marker of ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1, followed by ImageJ analyses for cell integrity density and skeletal analyses.

Results: Neurological injury in post-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation mice vs. sham mice was evident by poorer neurological scores (difference of 3.626 ± 0.4921, 95% confidence interval 2.618-4.634), sensory and motor functions (worsened by sixfold and sevenfold, respectively, compared with baseline), and locomotion (75% slower with a 76% decrease in total distance traveled). Post-CA brains demonstrated evidence of neurodegeneration and neuroinflammatory microglial activation.

Conclusions: Extensive microglial activation and neurodegeneration in the CA1 region and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus are evident following brief asystolic CA and are associated with severe neurological injury.