Extremely low frequency electromagnetic stimulation reduces ischemic stroke volume by improving cerebral collateral blood flow

Hannelore Kemps, Chantal Dessy, Laurent Dumas, Pierre Sonveaux, Lotte Alders, Jana Van Broeckhoven, Lena Perez Font, Sara Lambrichts, Sebastien Foulquier, Sven Hendrix, Bert Brône, Robin Lemmens, Annelies Bronckaers*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic stimulation (ELF-EMS) has been considered as a neuroprotective therapy for ischemic stroke based on its capacity to induce nitric oxide (NO) signaling. Here, we examined whether ELF-EMS reduces ischemic stroke volume by stimulating cerebral collateral perfusion. Moreover, the pathway responsible for ELF-EMS-induced NO production was investigated. ELF-EMS diminished infarct growth following experimental stroke in collateral-rich C57BL/6 mice, but not in collateral-scarce BALB/c mice, suggesting that decreased lesion sizes after ELF-EMS results from improved collateral blood flow. In vitro analysis demonstrated that ELF-EMS increased endothelial NO levels by stimulating the Akt-/eNOS pathway. Furthermore, ELF-EMS augmented perfusion in the hind limb of healthy mice, which was mediated by enhanced Akt-/eNOS signaling. In healthy C57BL/6 mouse brains, ELF-EMS treatment increased cerebral blood flow in a NOS-dependent manner, whereas no improvement in cerebrovascular perfusion was observed in collateral-sparse BALB/c mice. In addition, ELF-EMS enhanced cerebral blood flow in both the contra- and ipsilateral hemispheres of C57BL/6 mice subjected to experimental ischemic stroke. In conclusion, we showed that ELF-EMS enhances (cerebro)vascular perfusion by stimulating NO production, indicating that ELF-EMS could be an attractive therapeutic strategy for acute ischemic stroke by improving cerebral collateral blood flow.

Original languageEnglish
Article number0271678X221084410
Pages (from-to)979-996
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
Volume42
Issue number6
Early online date25 Feb 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022

Keywords

  • Akt-
  • BRAIN-INJURY
  • GATED CALCIUM-CHANNELS
  • HIPPOCAMPAL NEUROGENESIS
  • IN-VITRO
  • INFARCT SIZE
  • L-ARGININE
  • MICE
  • MICROCIRCULATION
  • NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHASE
  • STATIC MAGNETIC-FIELDS
  • cerebral collateral blood flow
  • eNOS pathway
  • extremely low frequency electromagnetic stimulation
  • ischemic stroke
  • nitric oxide

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