Inhibition of cerebrovascular raf activation attenuates cerebral blood flow and prevents upregulation of contractile receptors after subarachnoid hemorrhage

Late cerebral ischemia carries high morbidity and mortality after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF) and the subsequent cerebral ischemia which is associated with upregulation of contractile receptors in the vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) via activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 signal pathway. We hypothesize that SAH initiates cerebrovascular ERK1/2 activation, resulting in receptor upregulation. The raf inhibitor will inhibit the molecular events upstream ERK1/2 and may provide a therapeutic window for treatment of cerebral ischemia after SAH.