Evaluation of Cerebral Blood Flow Autoregulation in the Rat Using Laser Doppler Flowmetry

Summary

This article demonstrates the use of laser Doppler flowmetry to evaluate the ability of the cerebral circulation to autoregulate its blood flow during reductions in arterial blood pressure.

Abstract

When investigating the body's mechanisms for regulating cerebral blood flow, a relative measurement of microcirculatory blood flow can be obtained using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). This paper demonstrates a closed skull preparation that allows cerebral blood flow to be assessed without penetrating the skull or installing a chamber or cerebral window. To evaluate autoregulatory mechanisms, a model of controlled blood pressure reduction via graded hemorrhage can be utilized while simultaneously employing LDF. This enables the real time tracking of the relative changes in the blood flow in response to reductions in arterial blood pressure produced by the withdrawal of circulating blood volume. This paradigm is a valuable approach to study cerebral blood flow autoregulation during reductions in arterial blood pressure and, with minor modifications in the protocol, is also valuable as an experimental model of hemorrhagic shock. In addition to evaluating autoregulatory responses, LDF can be used to monitor the cortical blood flow when investigating metabolic, myogenic, endothelial, humoral, or neural mechanisms that regulate cerebral blood flow and the impact of various experimental interventions and pathological conditions on cerebral blood flow.

Introduction

Autoregulatory mechanisms in the cerebral circulation play a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis and normal function in the brain. Autoregulation of the cerebral blood flow is affected by multiple factors including heart rate, blood velocity, perfusion pressure, the diameter of the cerebral resistance arteries, and the microcirculatory resistance, all of which play a role in maintaining the total cerebral blood flow constant in the brain over the physiological range of systemic blood pressures. When arterial pressure increases, these mechanisms constrict arterioles and resistance arteries to prevent dangerous increases in intracranial pressure. When arterial blood....

Protocol

The Medical College of Wisconsin Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approved all protocols described in this paper and all procedures are in compliance with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) regulations.

1. Experimental animals and preparation for recording

1. Use 8–12-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250–300 g. For these experiments, feed rats a standard diet consisting of 0.4% NaCl, 200 g/kg casein, 3 g/kg DL-methionine, 497.77 g/kg sucrose, 150 g/kg cornstarch, 50 g/kg corn oil, 50 g/kg cellulose, 2 g/kg choline bitartrate, 35 g/kg mineral mi....

Results

Figure 2 summarizes the results of experiments conducted in 10 male Sprague-Dawley rats fed standard laboratory chow. In those experiments, mean LCBF was maintained within 20% of the prehemorrhage value following the first three blood volume withdrawals, until the mean arterial pressure reached the LLA. Subsequent blood volume withdrawals at pressures below the LLA caused a progressive reduction of LCBF, showing that the cerebral circulation was no longer able to produce a sufficient level o.......

Discussion

Evaluation of Tissue Blood Flow Responses with Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF). As noted above, the LDF signal is proportional to the number and velocity of moving particles, in this case RBC, in the microcirculation. LDF readings in different organs are well correlated with whole organ blood flow assessed by established methods such as electromagnetic flow meters and radioactive microspheres³⁰ and are generally consistent with studies evaluating the regulation of active tone in can.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
3-0 braided black silk suture	Midwest Vet	193.73000.2
Arterial Pressure Transducer	Merit Medical	041516504A
Automated Data Acquisition Systems (WINDAQ & BIOPAC system)	DATAQ Instruments
Blood Pressure Display Unit	Stoelting	50115
Circulating warm water pump	Gaymar Industries	T-pump
End-tidal CO2 monitor	Stoelting	Capstar-100
Heparin Sodium	Midwest Vet	191.46720.3
Kimwipe	Fisher Scientific	06-666A
Laser Doppler Flow Meter	Perimed	PeriFlux 5000 LDPM
Laser Doppler Refill Motility Standard	Perimed	PF1001
Polyethylene Tubing (PE240) (for trachea cannula)	VWR	63018-828
Polyethylene Tubing (PE50) (for femoral catheters)	VWR	63019-048
Rodent Ventilator	Cwe/Stoelting	SAR-830/P
Saline	Midwest Vet	193.74504.3
Sprague-Dawley Outbred Rats	Variable	N/A	Rats were ordered from various companies
Standard Rat Chow	Dyets, Inc.	113755
Stereotaxic Instrument	Cwe/Stoelting	Clasic Lab Standard