Activity of synaptosomal ATP diphosphohydrolase from hippocampus of rats tolerant to forebrain ischemia.

Cerebral ischemia causes cell death of vulnerable neurons in mammalian brain. Wistar adult rats (male and female, weighing 180-280 g) were submitted to 2 min, 10 min, or to 2 and 10 min (separated by a 24-h interval) of transient forebrain ischemia by the four-vessel occlusion method. Animals subjected to the longer ischemic episodes had massive necrosis of pyramidal CA1 cells of the hippocampus, while animals receiving double ischemia (2 + 10 min) showed neuronal tolerance to the ischemic insult. ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity from hippocampal synaptosomes was assayed in these three groups (N = 6 animals/group) under two conditions: no reperfusion and 5-min of reperfusion. The control values for ATPase and ADPase activities were 144.7 +/- 18.8 and 60.6 +/- 5.24 nmol Pi min-1 mg protein-1, respectively. The 10-min group without reperfusion showed an enhancement of approximately 20% for ATPase and ADPase activities. In reperfused rats, only the 2-min group had a 20% increase in both enzymatic activities. We suggest that modulation of ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity might be involved in molecular events that follow both ischemia and reperfusion.