PROJECT: JTC2011: PROTEA

About 1.5 million strokes occur each year in the European Union. Approximately 25% of men and 20% of women can expect to suffer a stroke if they live to reach 85 years. As the number one cause of morbidity and acquired disability in the European Union, stroke is consequently a major drain on public health-care funding, due to long hospital stays followed by ongoing support in the community, or nursing-home care. Although during the last ten years we have witnessed a remarkable progress in the understanding of the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke, reperfusion induced by recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA ? Actilyse©) remains the only approved acute treatment by the health authorities. Nevertheless, due to strict inclusion criteria, less than 10% of stroke patients are eligible for thrombolysis, thus leaving most patients without alternative acute treatment. The objective of the present project is to improve our knowledge on the pathophysiology of stroke, especially by investigating the mechanisms of action of proteases, focusing on the tPA/plasminogen/metalloproteinases axis. This knowledge of the role of proteases at the interface between the circulation and the brain parenchyma is expected to provide the bases for the development of innovative strategies to diagnose and treat stroke patients more efficiently.