Angiopoietin-like protein 1 decreases blood brain barrier damage and edema following focal cerebral ischemia in mice

Angiopoietin-like protein (Angptl) 1, a member of the angiopoietin-related protein family, modulates angiogenesis but little else is known of its physiological role. We found that angptl1 was upregulated at the 7th day after focal cerebral ischemia in normal mice. In order to understand the role of angptl1 in cerebral infarction, we induced focal cerebral ischemia in normal and glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter-angptl1 transgenic mice. In the transgenic mice without ischemia, overexpression of angptl1 in the whole brain led to a decrease in cortical microvascular density. Following focal cerebral ischemia, edema, but not infarct size, was less in transgenic mice relative to wild type littermates. This effect might be due to a reduction in the blood brain barrier breakdown, as confirmed by a decrease in Evans Blue leakage in the early post-ischemic phase. We conclude that angptl1 may have a beneficial role in the preservation of vascular integrity following focal cerebral ischemia.