Dissolution of emboli in rats with experimental cerebral thromboembolism by recombinant human tissue plasminogen activator (TD-2061).

Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) is frequently administered clinically as thrombolytic therapy. We injected recombinant t-PA into rats with cerebral 125I-labeled blood clot emboli to evaluate the dissolutive effect of recombinant human single-chain t-PA (rt-PA; TD-2061) on such emboli and to examine the possibility of improving neurological damage in patients with cerebral thrombosis. When rt-PA was given intravenously at a dose of 350,000 IU/kg 2 minutes before embolization, radioactivity in the affected cerebral hemisphere decreased to 20% of that in the vehicle control 2 hours after embolization. A significant decrease in radioactivity in the cerebral hemisphere was also found on the administration of 700,000 IU/kg of rt-PA 30 or 60 minutes after embolization, but not when rt-PA was administered 2 minutes after embolization. Marked inhibition of abnormal behavior such as hemiplegia was seen on treatment with rt-PA 2 minutes before embolization, but not at all when rt-PA treatment was given 30 or 60 minutes after embolization. The findings suggest that rt-PA can dissolve blood clot emboli in cerebral vessels and that prompt thrombolytic therapy is important to minimize neurological dysfunction in cases of cerebral thromboembolism.