flg2 as a potential biomarker of acute cerebral ischemic-reperfusion injury

Cerebral ischemic-reperfusion injury as an inflammatory and microcirculation dysfunction pathological condition negatively affects the clinical outcome of stroke patients. The novel inflammatory procoagulant protein fgl2 has been reported to play a role in some inflammatory and coagulation dysregulation diseases. This study aimed to examine the relationship between fgl2 expression and infarct size in an acute cerebral ischemic-reperfusion rat model. We studied fgl2 mRNA and protein expressions in cerebral tissue and peripheral macrophages, and the expressions of several inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1, and IL-8) in serum samples from rats with acute cerebral ischemic-reperfusion injury. Fiber microthrombosis in situ contributed to the microvascular thrombosis in acute cerebral ischemic-reperfusion injury, and fgl2 expression tended to strongly correlate with cerebral infarct size. The expression levels of the other inflammatory factors significantly increased but weakly correlated with cerebral infarct size. These findings support the potential of fgl2 level as a novel biomarker of acute cerebral ischemic-reperfusion injury.