Stroke articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  27 February 2024 | Open Access

  Bicarbonate signalling via G protein-coupled receptor regulates ischaemia-reperfusion injury

  The acid–base balance regulates cellular responses, but little has been known about its molecular mechanism. Here, the authors unveil a bicarbonate-sensing GPCR, GPR30, that underlies cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury by regulating blood flow recovery.

  • Airi Jo-Watanabe
  • , Toshiki Inaba
  •  & Takehiko Yokomizo

• Article
  21 February 2024 | Open Access

  Integrating single-cell and spatially resolved transcriptomic strategies to survey the astrocyte response to stroke in male mice

  Astrocytes adopt diverse states in response to brain injuries. Here, the authors develop a platform for spatially resolved, single-cell transcriptomics and proteomics, called tDISCO (tissue-digital microfluidic isolation of single cells for -Omics) to uncover the spatial boundaries of molecularly distinct reactive astrocyte populations in stroke.

  • Erica Y. Scott
  • , Nickie Safarian
  •  & Maryam Faiz

• Article
  08 February 2024 | Open Access

  Efficacy and safety of using auditory-motor entrainment to improve walking after stroke: a multi-site randomized controlled trial of InTandem^TM

  Post-stroke walking impairment is a significant public health concern. Here, the authors perform an interventional, randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of InTandem™, an autonomous neurorehabilitation system utilizing auditory-motor entrainment to improve walking after stroke.

  • Louis N. Awad
  • , Arun Jayaraman
  •  & Sabrina R. Taylor

• Article
  25 November 2023 | Open Access

  Diversity of cortical activity changes beyond depression during Spreading Depolarizations

  Spreading depolarizations are classically thought to be associated with depression of cortical activity. Here, authors show variable, from depression to booming, changes in cortical activity during different types of spreading depolarizations.

  • Azat Nasretdinov
  • , Daria Vinokurova
  •  & Roustem Khazipov

• Article
  06 November 2023 | Open Access

  Pathogenesis-adaptive polydopamine nanosystem for sequential therapy of ischemic stroke

  Reperfusion is a main strategy for restoring blood supply after ischemic stroke, but it induces neuroinflammation that undergoes dynamic progression, hindering the treatment of ischemic stroke. Here, the authors report a pathogenesis-adaptive nanosystem for sequential and on-demand regulation of reperfusion-induced dynamic neuroinflammation for ischemic stroke therapy.

  • Di Wu
  • , Jing Zhou
  •  & Zhong Chen

• Article
  10 October 2023 | Open Access

  Subventricular zone cytogenesis provides trophic support for neural repair in a mouse model of stroke

  The functions of newborn cells arising from the subventricular zone in response to stroke have been unclear. Here, the authors show that cells migrating from the subventricular zone after stroke promote brain repair and functional recovery in mice.

  • Michael R. Williamson
  • , Stephanie P. Le
  •  & Michael R. Drew

• Article
  26 September 2023 | Open Access

  Natural product P57 induces hypothermia through targeting pyridoxal kinase

  Induction of hypothermia during hibernation/torpor enables certain mammals to survive under extreme conditions. Here, the authors show that the natural product P57 induces hypothermia by targeting pyridoxal kinase and has a potential application in therapeutic hypothermia.

  • Ruina Wang
  • , Lei Xiao
  •  & Yongjun Dang

• Article
  15 August 2023 | Open Access

  Deep-learning based detection of vessel occlusions on CT-angiography in patients with suspected acute ischemic stroke

  AI may enhance diagnostic accuracy in medicine. Here, authors developed an AI model to detect and localise vessel occlusions in patients with suspected ischemic stroke, outperforming commercial tools on pseudo-prospective multicenter benchmarking.

  • Gianluca Brugnara
  • , Michael Baumgartner
  •  & Philipp Vollmuth

• Article
  02 June 2023 | Open Access

  Therapeutic blood-brain barrier modulation and stroke treatment by a bioengineered FZD₄-selective WNT surrogate in mice

  The WNT/b-catenin pathway is essential for bloodbrain barrier (BBB) and blood-retina barrier (BRB) function. A bioengineered FZD4-selective WNT surrogate demonstrated systemic efficacy during BRB and ischemic stroke BBB dysfunction in mice.

  • Jie Ding
  • , Sung-Jin Lee
  •  & Calvin J. Kuo

• Article
  05 May 2023 | Open Access

  A randomized trial of Trendelenburg position for acute moderate ischemic stroke

  The effect of head positioning in acute stroke is controversial. Here, the authors report the results of a clinical trial suggesting that the procedure, initiated within 24 hours of onset, is safe and feasible, but does not improve functional outcome in acute moderate stroke patients with large artery atherosclerosis.

  • Hui-Sheng Chen
  • , Nan-Nan Zhang
  •  & Thanh N. Nguyen

• Article
  13 February 2023 | Open Access

  Electroacupuncture improves swallowing function in a post-stroke dysphagia mouse model by activating the motor cortex inputs to the nucleus tractus solitarii through the parabrachial nuclei

  Difficulty swallowing after stroke and the neural circuitry underlying this is not fully understood. Here the authors demonstrate, using a mouse model, a potential neural circuit mechanism for effects of electroacupuncture on swallowing behaviour in post-stroke dysphagia.

  • Lulu Yao
  • , Qiuping Ye
  •  & Nenggui Xu

• Article
  30 January 2023 | Open Access

  FTO-dependent m⁶A modification of Plpp3 in circSCMH1-regulated vascular repair and functional recovery following stroke

  The mechanisms behind how vascular repair is regulated after ischemic stroke are yet to be elucidated. Here, the authors describe that a circular RNA interacts with FTO to promote vascular repair following stroke in mice and primates via mediating m6 A modification.

  • Bin Li
  • , Wen Xi
  •  & Honghong Yao

• Article
  19 December 2022 | Open Access

  Endothelial cells regulate astrocyte to neural progenitor cell trans-differentiation in a mouse model of stroke

  Damaged brains try to repair themselves by producing neurons in areas where neurogenesis does not normally occur. Here, the authors show that brain endothelial cells provide microvesicle-encased signals that convert parenchymal astrocytes into neural progenitors, thus improving outcomes after stroke.

  • Wenlu Li
  • , Emiri T. Mandeville
  •  & Eng H. Lo

• Article
  12 November 2022 | Open Access

  Hypothermia evoked by stimulation of medial preoptic nucleus protects the brain in a mouse model of ischaemia

  Developing brain-protective hypothermia is a medical challenge. Here, the authors show that deep brain stimulation of a particular brain area is a new way to trigger the body into a hibernation-like state with reduced body temperature and brain protection in a mouse model of stroke.

  • Shuai Zhang
  • , Xinpei Zhang
  •  & Sheng-Tao Hou

• Article
  08 November 2022 | Open Access

  Generalizable spelling using a speech neuroprosthesis in an individual with severe limb and vocal paralysis

  Previous work has described a neuroprosthesis to directly decode full words in real time during attempts to speak. Here the authors demonstrate that a patient with anarthria can control this neuroprosthesis to spell out intended messages in real time using attempts to silently speak.

  • Sean L. Metzger
  • , Jessie R. Liu
  •  & Edward F. Chang

• Article
  29 August 2022 | Open Access

  Subcortical-cortical dynamical states of the human brain and their breakdown in stroke

  Favaretto et al. show that the brain rapidly alternates between transient connectivity patterns, with cortical regions flexibly synchronizing with two groups of subcortical regions, and that this dynamic is abnormal in stroke patients.

  • Chiara Favaretto
  • , Michele Allegra
  •  & Maurizio Corbetta

• Article
  27 June 2022 | Open Access

  Recovery of neural dynamics criticality in personalized whole-brain models of stroke

  The authors investigate the influence of brain injury (strokes) on the criticality of neural dynamics using directly measured connectomes and whole-brain models. They show that lesions engender a sub-critical state that recovers over time in parallel with behavior.

  • Rodrigo P. Rocha
  • , Loren Koçillari
  •  & Maurizio Corbetta

• Article
  15 March 2022 | Open Access

  Electrical modulation of transplanted stem cells improves functional recovery in a rodent model of stroke

  Paul George and colleagues developed a conductive polymer system to enable stem cell delivery and electrical modulation in vivo. Employing this system improved functional stroke recovery in rodents and identified important repair pathways.

  • Byeongtaek Oh
  • , Sruthi Santhanam
  •  & Paul M. George

• Article
  03 March 2022 | Open Access

  Astrocytic phagocytosis contributes to demyelination after focal cortical ischemia in mice

  Ischemic stroke can cause secondary demyelination. Whether phagocytic astrocytes can contribute to such demyelination is unclear. Here, the authors show that lipocalin-2 (LCN-2) expression increased in astrocytes upon injury. LCN-2 expressing astrocytes acquire a phagocytic phenotype and contribute to secondary demyelination in a mouse model of ischemic stroke.

  • Ting Wan
  • , Wusheng Zhu
  •  & Xinfeng Liu

• Article
  17 February 2022 | Open Access

  Stroke induces disease-specific myeloid cells in the brain parenchyma and pia

  How ischaemic stroke affects the brain borders is not fully understood. Here the authors show that a stroke-associated myeloid cell population occurs exclusively in brain parenchyma that shares features with neurodegenerative microglia and blockade of proteins on these cells can ameliorate stroke symptoms.

  • Carolin Beuker
  • , David Schafflick
  •  & Jens Minnerup

• Article
  26 November 2021 | Open Access

  Stroke subtype-dependent synapse elimination by reactive gliosis in mice

  Microglia and astrocytes clear neuronal debris after stroke, whether glia remain phagocytic and cause synapse loss at the subacute stage remains unknown. Here, the authors show in a murine model of ischemic stroke that inhibition of phagocytosis by MEGF10 and MERTK deletion in microglia and astrocytes attenuated damage and improved neurological outcomes by preventing synapse loss.

  • Xiaojing Shi
  • , Longlong Luo
  •  & Guo-Yuan Yang

• Article
  25 November 2021 | Open Access

  NogoA-expressing astrocytes limit peripheral macrophage infiltration after ischemic brain injury in primates

  Astrocytes are important players in ischemic stroke. Here, the authors use single nuclei transcriptomics to characterise marmoset astrocytes following brain injury. At functional level, they show that NogoAexpressing astrocytes limit macrophage infiltration.

  • Anthony G. Boghdadi
  • , Joshua Spurrier
  •  & James A. Bourne

• Article
  20 October 2021 | Open Access

  Longitudinal functional imaging of VIP interneurons reveals sup-population specific effects of stroke that are rescued with chemogenetic therapy

  Stroke profoundly disrupts cortical excitability which impedes recovery, but how stroke affects inhibitory interneurons is poorly understood. Here, the authors show that functional impairments after stroke are associated with the disruption of a highly active subpopulation of interneurons expressing vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), which could be ameliorated by chemogenetic stimulation.

  • Mohamad Motaharinia
  • , Kim Gerrow
  •  & Craig E. Brown

• Article
  17 September 2021 | Open Access

  Pericyte-derived fibrotic scarring is conserved across diverse central nervous system lesions

  Fibrotic scar tissue limits central nervous system regeneration. Here, Dias et al. show that fibrotic scarring is common in mice and humans, following distinct lesions to the adult brain and spinal cord, and derives from a discrete population of GLAST-expressing perivascular cells.

  • David O. Dias
  • , Jannis Kalkitsas
  •  & Christian Göritz

• Article
  25 August 2021 | Open Access

  Portable, bedside, low-field magnetic resonance imaging for evaluation of intracerebral hemorrhage

  Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) operates at a high magnetic field strength and requires a strict access-controlled environment, making MRI often inaccessible. Here, the authors present a portable low-field MRI device that detects intracerebral hemorrhage with high accuracy.

  • Mercy H. Mazurek
  • , Bradley A. Cahn
  •  & Kevin N. Sheth

• Article
  02 August 2021 | Open Access

  Malignant cerebral infarction after ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination: a catastrophic variant of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia

  Vaccination is an effective strategy in suppressing COVID-19 pandemic, but rare adverse effects have been reported, including cerebral venous thrombosis. Here the authors report two cases of middle cerebral artery infarct within 9-10 days following ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination that also manifest pulmonary and portal vein thrombosis.

  • M. De Michele
  • , M. Iacobucci
  •  & D. Toni

• Article
  25 June 2021 | Open Access

  Barrel cortex plasticity after photothrombotic stroke involves potentiating responses of pre-existing circuits but not functional remapping to new circuits

  Definitive evidence for functional remapping after stroke remains lacking. Here, the authors performed in vivo intrinsic signal imaging and two-photon calcium imaging of sensory-evoked responses before and after photothrombotic stroke and found no evidence of remapping of lost functionalities to new circuits in peri-infarct cortex.

  • William A. Zeiger
  • , Máté Marosi
  •  & Carlos Portera-Cailliau

• Article
  02 June 2021 | Open Access

  Outcome after acute ischemic stroke is linked to sex-specific lesion patterns

  Acute ischemic stroke impacts men and women differently. Here, the authors show how different lesion patterns in men and women are linked to the extent of stroke severity.

  • Anna K. Bonkhoff
  • , Markus D. Schirmer
  •  & Natalia S. Rost

• Article
  10 May 2021 | Open Access

  Preserved structural connectivity mediates the clinical effect of thrombolysis in patients with anterior-circulation stroke

  The effects of thrombolysis therapy in stroke on structural connectivity are not well understood. Here, the authors show with causal mediation analysis that the clinical benefits of thrombolysis in anterior circulation stroke are mediated via structural connectivity.

  • Eckhard Schlemm
  • , Thies Ingwersen
  •  & Bastian Cheng

• Article
  15 October 2020 | Open Access

  Transplantation of hPSC-derived pericyte-like cells promotes functional recovery in ischemic stroke mice

  Pericytes play an essential role in blood brain barrier (BBB) integrity. Here, the authors generate pericyte-like cells (PCs) from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) which display functional properties and also promote BBB recovery in a mouse model of cerebral artery occlusion.

  • Jiaqi Sun
  • , Yinong Huang
  •  & Weiqiang Li

• Article
  25 August 2020 | Open Access

  Blood substitution therapy rescues the brain of mice from ischemic damage

  Acute stroke causes complex, pathological, and systemic responses which remain challenging to treat. Here, the authors show that substituting the blood of stroke model mice with whole-blood from naive healthy donor mice reduces infarct volume and improves neurological deficits.

  • Xuefang Ren
  • , Heng Hu
  •  & James W. Simpkins

• Article
  15 June 2020 | Open Access

  Rhythmic light flicker rescues hippocampal low gamma and protects ischemic neurons by enhancing presynaptic plasticity

  Brain ischemia has been associated with deficits in neural oscillations. Here in an animal model, the authors show that modulation of low-gamma oscillations using a light flicker can restore low gamma oscillations and protect ischemic neurons.

  • Lifeng Zheng
  • , Mei Yu
  •  & Sheng-Tao Hou

• Article
  07 January 2020 | Open Access

  Modulation of brain cation-Cl⁻ cotransport via the SPAK kinase inhibitor ZT-1a

  SPAK kinase is a master regulator of cation-Cl⁻ cotransporters. Here the authors describe a new SPAK inhibitor with robust protective effects in rodent hydrocephalous and ischemic stroke models.

  • Jinwei Zhang
  • , Mohammad Iqbal H. Bhuiyan
  •  & Xianming Deng

• Article
  20 December 2019 | Open Access

  Genomic risk score offers predictive performance comparable to clinical risk factors for ischaemic stroke

  Stroke risk is influenced by genetic and lifestyle factors and previously a genomic risk score (GRS) for stroke was proposed, albeit with limited predictive power. Here, Abraham et al. develop a metaGRS that is composed of several stroke-related GRSs and demonstrate improved predictive power compared with individual GRS or classic risk factors.

  • Gad Abraham
  • , Rainer Malik
  •  & Martin Dichgans

• Article
  06 August 2019 | Open Access

  Brainstem and spinal cord MRI identifies altered sensorimotor pathways post-stroke

  There are few studies of structural changes in ascending and descending sensorimotor pathways after stroke, beyond the corticospinal tract, in the brain. Here the authors identify changes in white matter structure in brainstem and spinal cord following stroke, and show its relationship to motor impairment.

  • Haleh Karbasforoushan
  • , Julien Cohen-Adad
  •  & Julius P. A. Dewald

• Article
  02 August 2019 | Open Access

  A human memory circuit derived from brain lesions causing amnesia

  Memory is hypothesised to depend on different brain regions that interact in a network. Here, the authors use case studies of stroke patients with amnesia from the literature to identify brain regions that are part of this network.

  • Michael A. Ferguson
  • , Chun Lim
  •  & Michael D. Fox

• Article
  03 July 2019 | Open Access

  Locus coeruleus-CA1 projections are involved in chronic depressive stress-induced hippocampal vulnerability to transient global ischaemia

  Depression and transient ischaemic attacks are tightly regulated but the neural circuits underlying depression-modulated ischaemic injury are not known. Here, the authors show that the locus coeruleus-CA1 pathway is involved in depression-associated ischaemia susceptibility.

  • Qian Zhang
  • , Dian Xing Hu
  •  & Bo Tian

• Article
  27 June 2019 | Open Access

  Loss of the transcription factor RBPJ induces disease-promoting properties in brain pericytes

  Pericytes are perivascular cells essential for blood-brain barrier maintenance. Here Diéguez-Hurtado et al. show that depletion of the transcription factor RBPJ in pericytes affects their molecular identity and disturbs endothelial cell behaviour, inducing the formation of vascular lesions in the brain.

  • Rodrigo Diéguez-Hurtado
  • , Katsuhiro Kato
  •  & Ralf H. Adams

• Article
  01 May 2019 | Open Access

  Targeting the HIV-infected brain to improve ischemic stroke outcome

  Here, using the EcoHIV mouse model of infection, Bertrand et al. report that HIV infection contributes to ischemic stroke damage and decreased tissue recovery by disrupting blood–brain barrier integrity and show that antivirals with high CNS penetration can reduce tissue injury and accelerate post-stroke recovery.

  • Luc Bertrand
  • , Fannie Méroth
  •  & Michal Toborek

• Article
  14 March 2019 | Open Access

  Social networks and risk of delayed hospital arrival after acute stroke

  Rapid arrival to hospital after stroke is critical for patients to receive effective treatment. Here, the authors examine how stroke patients’ social network structure relates to stroke arrival time, and show that small and close-knit personal networks predict delayed arrival.

  • Amar Dhand
  • , Douglas Luke
  •  & Jin-Moo Lee

• Article
  08 June 2018 | Open Access

  CREB controls cortical circuit plasticity and functional recovery after stroke

  Increasing excitability in the peri-infarct area enhances motor recovery after stroke. Here the authors show that expressing CREB, a transcription factor known for its role in synaptic plasticity, or increasing activity of CREB-expressing cells near the stroke site improves recovery in an effect that is strong enough that it can be used to turn on and off motor recovery after stroke.

  • L. Caracciolo
  • , M. Marosi
  •  & S. T. Carmichael

• Article
  12 March 2018 | Open Access

  Vesicular glutamate release from central axons contributes to myelin damage

  Neuronal activity can lead to vesicular release of glutamate. Here the authors demonstrate that vesicular release of glutamate occurs in axons during ischemic conditions, and that an allosteric modulator of GluN2C/D is protective in models of ischemic injury.

  • Sean Doyle
  • , Daniel Bloch Hansen
  •  & Robert Fern

• Article
  22 December 2017 | Open Access

  Excitotoxic inactivation of constitutive oxidative stress detoxification pathway in neurons can be rescued by PKD1

  Excitotoxicity due to excessive glutamate release causes oxidative stress and neuronal death, and is a feature of many brain diseases. Here the authors show that protein kinase D1 is inactivated by excitotoxicity in a model of stroke and that its activation can be neuroprotective.

  • Julia Pose-Utrilla
  • , Lucía García-Guerra
  •  & Teresa Iglesias

• Article
  30 October 2017 | Open Access

  Optogenetically stimulating intact rat corticospinal tract post-stroke restores motor control through regionalized functional circuit formation

  Existing methods to improve motor function after stroke include non-specific neuromodulatory approaches. Here the authors use an automated method of analysis of reaching behaviour in rodents to show that optogenetic stimulation of intact corticospinal tract fibres leads to restoration of prior motor functions, rather than compensatory acquisition of new movements.

  • A. S. Wahl
  • , U. Büchler
  •  & M. E. Schwab

• Article
  19 September 2017 | Open Access

  Neutrophil polarization by IL-27 as a therapeutic target for intracerebral hemorrhage

  Neutrophils are important modulators of tissue damage after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), but how this function is regulated is not clear. Here, the authors show interleukin-27 promotes the tissue-protecting functions of neutrophils via, at least partly, the induction of lactoferrin to present a potential therapy for ICH.

  • Xiurong Zhao
  • , Shun-Ming Ting
  •  & Jaroslaw Aronowski

• Article
  07 September 2017 | Open Access

  Tau exacerbates excitotoxic brain damage in an animal model of stroke

  Excitotoxicity contributes to neuronal injury following stroke. Here the authors show that tau promotes excitotoxicity by a post-synaptic mechanism, involving site-specific control of ERK activation, in a mouse model of stroke.

  • Mian Bi
  • , Amadeus Gladbach
  •  & Lars M. Ittner

• Article
  23 June 2017 | Open Access

  Optogenetic rewiring of thalamocortical circuits to restore function in the stroke injured brain

  Stroke recovery requires circuit reorganization and therapeutic efforts have focused on rewiring cortical circuits after stroke, but what about thalamic inputs? Here, the authors examine how thalamocortical axons are affected by stroke and use optogenetic stimulation to promote recovery.

  • Kelly A. Tennant
  • , Stephanie L. Taylor
  •  & Craig E. Brown

• Article
  22 June 2017 | Open Access

  Reactive astrocytes function as phagocytes after brain ischemia via ABCA1-mediated pathway

  Astrocytic phagocytosis has been shown to play a role in synaptic pruning during development, but whether adult astrocytes possess phagocytic ability is unclear. Here the authors show that following brain ischemia, reactive astrocytes become phagocytic and engulf debris via the ABCA1 pathway.

  • Yosuke M. Morizawa
  • , Yuri Hirayama
  •  & Schuichi Koizumi

• Article
  19 April 2017 | Open Access

  Adrenergic-mediated loss of splenic marginal zone B cells contributes to infection susceptibility after stroke

  Risk of infection is high after stroke, but the causes are not clear. Here the authors implicate altered beta–adrenergic signalling after stroke that results in a reduction in IgM-mediated protection by marginal zone B cells.

  • Laura McCulloch
  • , Craig J. Smith
  •  & Barry W. McColl

• Article
  03 May 2016 | Open Access

  Microglia protect against brain injury and their selective elimination dysregulates neuronal network activity after stroke

  How microglia contribute to brain injury or repair is unclear. Here combining microglia manipulations and calcium imaging, the authors show that selective elimination of microglia leads to disrupted neuronal calcium dynamics and markedly increased brain injury after cerebral ischemia.

  • Gergely Szalay
  • , Bernadett Martinecz
  •  & Ádám Dénes