Evaluation of 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride as a stain for detection and quantification of experimental cerebral infarction in rats.

TLDR

The study induced middle cerebral artery occlusion in 35 adult rats, then at various times after occlusion sacrificed the animals, sliced the brains, and quantified infarct size using TTC or hematoxylin‑eosin staining. TTC staining produced infarct sizes comparable to hematoxylin‑eosin (≈21 % of coronal sections), with no significant difference and a strong correlation (r = 0.91), demonstrating that TTC is a rapid, inexpensive, and reliable method for detecting and quantifying cerebral infarction 24 h after ischemia.

Abstract

We have evaluated the use of 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) as an histopathologic stain for identification of infarcted rat brain tissue. The middle cerebral artery (MCA) of 35 normal adult rats was occluded surgically. At various times after surgical occlusion, rats were sacrificed and brain slices were obtained and stained with TTC or hematoxolin and eosin (H & E); the size of the area of infarcted tissue stained by each method was quantified. In rats sacrificed 24 hr after occlusion of the MCA, the size of the area of infarction was 21 +/- 2% of the coronal section for TTC, and 21 +/- 2% for H & E (mean +/- S.D., N = 13). The size of areas of infarction determined by either staining method was not significantly different in area by the paired test, and a significant correlation between sizes determined by each method was found by linear regression analysis (r = 0.91, slope = 0.89, and the y intercept = 4.4%). Staining with TTC is a rapid, convenient, inexpensive, and reliable method for the detection and quantification of cerebral infarction in rats 24 hr after the onset of ischemia.