Abstract: Objective To establish the animal model of infection-type periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) in two-day-old SD rats. Methods Forty-eight 2-day-old SD rats were randomly divided into 2 groups consisting of the sham group and the PVL group. Under stereo-positioner of brain, the lipopolysac-charide (LPS ) 1 ug/g was injected into the lateral ventricle of the neonatal rats in the PVL group, and similar volume of sterile PBS was injected into the lateral ventricle of neonatal rats in the sham group. The pathological assessment under light microscope and the immunohistochemical analysis of 04-positive preoligodendrocytes (preOLs) were respectively undertaken in all neonatal rats 5 days after LPS injection.Results The obvious injuries of white matter and the massive loss of 04-positive PreOLs induced by LPS were observed by the pathological assessment under light microscope and the immunohistochemi-cal analysis. Conclusion The infection-type PVL model of neonatal rats which corresponds to the pathological features of PVL in human premature infants can be successfully established by the intraven-tricular injection of LPS.

Key words: Periventricular leukomalacia, Infection, Neonatal rats, Animal model