Vascular Protection of Hydrogen Sulfide on Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rats.

This study was undertaken to demonstrate the vascular protection of exogenous and endogenous hydrogen sulfide (HS) on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. The effect of HS on cerebrovascular dysfunction in middle cerebral artery (MCA) and neuronal damage were measured after cerebral I/R induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in cystathionine c-lyase (CSE) knockdown and wild-type rats. The effect of sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS, donor of exogenous HS), L-cysteine (L-Cys, substrate of endogenous HS), and endothelium cells on the responses of isolated MCA derived from non-ischemic rats was also evaluated to assess the underlying mechanism of HS-mediate cerebral vasodilation.