A lone spike in blood glucose can enhance the thrombo-inflammatory response in cortical venules

Abstract

How transient hyperglycemia contributes to cerebro-vascular disease has been a challenge to study under controlled conditions. We present an approach to model luminal vessel thrombo-inflammation using amplified, ultrashort laser-pulses to physically disrupt brain-venule endothelium. Vessel disruption in conjunction with transient hyperglycemia from a single injection of metabolically active D-glucose results in real-time responses to venule damage that include rapid serum extravasation, platelet aggregation, and neutrophil recruitment, in normal mice. In contrast, vessel thrombo-inflammation following laser-induced vessel disruption is significantly reduced in mice injected with metabolically inert L-glucose. Thrombo-inflammation is pharmacologically ameliorated by a platelet inhibitor, by a scavenger of reactive oxygen species, or by a nitric oxide donor. For comparison, in diabetic mice injured vessel thrombo-inflammatory responses are also reduced by restoration of normo-glycemia. Our approach provides a controlled method to probe synergies of transient metabolic and physical vascular perturbations and reveals new aspects of brain pathophysiology.