Diabetes increases expression of ICAM after a brief period of cerebral ischemia.

The objective of present study was to determine whether leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesive molecule, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) was increased after ischemia in diabetic rats. The immunohistochemistry of ICAM showed that numbers of ICAM-1 positively stained microvessels in the cortex were markedly increased at 3 days of reperfusion in diabetic, but not in non-diabetic rats. These were further confirmed by Western analysis. Western analyses also showed that interlukin-1beta (IL-1beta), but not TNF-alpha, was increased at 3 days of the reperfusion in diabetic rats. The results suggest that inflammatory responses may mediate diabetic hyperglycemia-aggravated brain damage induced by ischemia and reperfusion.