Background: Cerebral ischemia is considered as one of the leading causes of death and involved in neuronal apoptosis. This study aimed to evaluate the Bax and Bcl-2 expression in the rat hippocampus after reperfusion following transient ischemia.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, transient global cerebral ischemia (15 and 30 minutes) was induced in adult male Wistar rats (n=5 in each group) by the occlusion of bilateral common carotid artery followed by reperfusion for 24 and 72 hours. Five Sham-operated animals, without any intervention, considered as a control group. The expression of Bcl-2 and Bax genes were detected by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR in all groups.

Results: Transcription and expression of both Bcl-2 and Bax genes were increased after global cerebral ischemia in all experimental groups the two gene expression increment in the experimental groups (2, 3 and 4) was more detectable than the first group.

Conclusion: According to the results, transient cerebral ischemia activates Bcl-2 and Bax apoptotic genes that play an important role in the protection and induction of cell death in the hippocampal neurons, respectively.