Nafamostat mesilate attenuates transient focal ischemia/reperfusion-induced brain injury via the inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress

•Nafamostat mesilate decreased infarct size and the extent of brain edema after MCAO.•Nafamostat mesilate attenuated MCAO-induced neuronal degeneration and activation of microglia and astrocytes.•Nafamostat mesilate inhibited the MCAO-induced expression levels of GRP78, CHOP, and p-eIF2α.

Nafamostat mesilate (NM), a serine protease inhibitor, has a broad range of clinical applications that include use as an anticoagulant during hemodialysis in cerebral hemorrhage patients, as a hemoperfusion anticoagulant for patients with intravascular coagulation, hemorrhagic lesions, and hemorrhagic tendencies, and for the improvement of acute pancreatitis. However, the effects of NM on acute cerebral ischemia have yet to be investigated. Thus, the present study utilized a rat model in which transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was used to induce ischemic injury to investigate the effects of NM on infarct volume and histological and biological changes. NM (1 mg/kg) was intravenously administered prior to and after the MCAO procedure. Compared to control rats, the administration of NM significantly decreased infarct size and the extent of brain edema after the induction of focal ischemia via MCAO. Additionally, NM treatment attenuated MCAO-induced neuronal degeneration and activation of microglia and astrocytes. NM treatment also inhibited the MCAO-induced expression levels of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), CATT/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and p-eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), which are endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers, in the cerebral cortex. The present findings demonstrate that NM exerts neuroprotective effects in the brain following focal ischemia via, at least in part, the inhibition of ER stress.