Circadian disruption effects on vascularization in the hippocampus following cardiac arrest

Evan W. McCray*, O. Hecmarie Meléndez-Fernández, and Randy J. Nelson
Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation No.: 94

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Neuroscience (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Exercise Physiology

Circadian rhythms are essential to optimize biological function. These ~24 h endogenous rhythms are entrained to precisely 24 h by light. The prevalence of light at night has adverse effects on physiology and health. To determine the effects of dysregulated circadian rhythms on vascularization after ischemia, we hypothesized that circadian disruption delays revascularization following ischemia. Female and male mice underwent cardiac arrest (CA) or a sham procedure. They were then housed in either a light-dark (LD) cycle of 14 hours of light and 10 hours of dark, ordim light at night (dLAN) for 1wk. After 1wk, they were all housed in dark nights for another week. After 14 days we visualized vasculature within the hippocampus by staining with lectin. Females exposed to dLAN reduced vascularization in the CA2 and dentate gyrus regions of the hippocampus, which was exacerbated by CA. Males displayed vascular differences in the dentate gyrus in response to dLAN, but not in response to CA. These data suggest that circadian disruption exacerbates recovery after ischemia in the hippocampus.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's SURE program (Rita Rio & Michelle Richards-Babb)