Transgenic mouse overexpressing the Akt reduced the volume of infarct area after middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Transgenic mouse lines expressing the active form Akt gene under the control of the damage-induced neuronal endopeptidase (DINE) promoter were made from three different founder mice, and its neuroprotective potential against ischemic brain damage was investigated. Twenty-four hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion, two DINE-Akt-transgenic mouse lines displayed reductions of the infarcted area by 35% compared to the wild-type littermate. RT-PCR assays showed a high level of transgene in response to ischemic brain damage in these lines. These results suggest that the DINE promoter is a useful promoter, which responds to neuronal insults and that the Akt-induced neuroprotective effect against ischemic damage is potent in vivo.