Research reportT lymphocytes infiltration promotes blood-brain barrier injury after experimental intracerebral hemorrhage

•Demonstrating the spatial-temporal distribution of infiltrating T lymphocytes after ICH.•T lymphocytes infiltration aggravate BBB injury after ICH.•Suppressing T lymphocytes infiltration can rescues BBB injury.

T lymphocytes migrate into the brain after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and promote cerebral inflammation, thus exacerbating neuronal injury. However, the relationship between of T lymphocytes infiltration and blood-brain barrier (BBB) injury after ICH has not been clarified. In this study, we investigated the spatial-temporal distribution of infiltrating T lymphocytes after ICH in C57BL/6 mice by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry, and the accompanying change rules of BBB permeability were detected by Evans blue dye leakage and tight junction protein expression. Furthermore, T lymphocyte-deficient nude mice and T lymphocyte-decreased C57BL/6 mice treated with fingolimod were used to verify the relationship between T lymphocytes infiltration and BBB leakage after ICH. Here, we reported that brain-infiltrating T lymphocytes in the hemorrhagic hemisphere began to accumulate on the first day and peaked on the fifth day after ICH; BBB leakage also at peaked on the fifth day. Moreover, T lymphocyte-deficient nude mice showed minor BBB leakage after ICH compared with C57BL/6 control mice. Similarly, fingolimod treatment can significantly decrease T lymphocyte infiltration and promote BBB integrity compared with a vehicle control. Overall, our results suggested that suppression of T lymphocyte infiltration may be a novel way to improve BBB integrity after ICH.