Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of infrasound on the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats. Methods The model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats was induced with intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with nylon monofilament suture. 36 male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group (n=12),model group (n=12) and infrasound group (n=12), then each group was randomly divided into 3 d and 7 d subgroups, with 6 rats in each subgroup.The infrasound group was treated with infrasound for 2 h every day 12 h after operation, the model group was treated in the same way turning off the power, the sham group received no treatment. They were evaluated with the modified Neurological Severity Score (mNSS) 3 and 7 d after treatment (before being executed), and brain tissue slices were immunohistochemically stained to observe the expression of GFAP around the ischemic sites. Results Compared to the model group, the mNSS score in 7 d infrasound group decreased significantly (P<0.05), the integral optical density (IOD) of GFAP around the focus was significantly higher in the infrasound group than in the model group (P<0.001). Conclusion Infrasound can increase the expression of GFAP after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats.

Key words: infrasound, ischemia/reperfusion, glial fibrillary acidic protein