Nafamostat mesilate (NM), a serine protease inhibitor, has a broad range of clinical use such as an anticoagulant during hemodialysis for cerebral hemorrhage patients, an agent to improve acute pancreatitis, and a hemoperfusion anticoagulant for patie...
Nafamostat mesilate (NM), a serine protease inhibitor, has a broad range of clinical use such as an anticoagulant during hemodialysis for cerebral hemorrhage patients, an agent to improve acute pancreatitis, and a hemoperfusion anticoagulant for patients with intravascular coagulation, hemorrhagic lesion, and hemorrhagic tendency. However, the effect of NM on acute embolic cerebral infarction has not been studied.
In the present study, NM decreased the size of infarct and brain edema after induction of transient focal ischemia using middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) compared to control. In addition, NM inhibited the increase of motor neurological scoring induced by MCAO. Neuron degeneration is induced in cerebral cortex of MCAO group. Furthermore, the activation of glia cell and astrocyte induced by MCAO group is inhibited in NM treated group. GRP78 was increased in the MCAO group compared with control. However, this increase induced by MCAO is inhibited in NM treated group. Furthermore, CHOP and p-eIF2α were increased in the cerebral cortex of MCAO group. But this increase, also, inhibited in NM treated group.
These results collectively suggest that NM reduces cerebral injury after MCAO via inhibiting neuron degeneration and ER stress suggesting NM has a neuro-protective effect in ischemic-reperfusion injury.