The involvement of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in ischemia was evaluated by detecting the expression of neuronal NOS (nNOS), endothelial NOS (eNOS), and inducible NOS (iNOS) by the immunohistochemical method in the rat model of middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. Transient MCA occlusion (2 hours) was induced in 32 male Wistar rats by extracranial insertion of a 3-0 nylon thread through the internal carotid artery into the MCA. Animals were killed at 0, 6, 24, 72, and 168 hours after MCA occlusion (n = 6, 6, 8, 6, and 6, respectively). The brains were fixed with periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde, frozen, and sectioned. Sections were stained with polyclonal antibody against nNOS, eNOS, and iNOS. Each section was evaluated by microscopic observation (x100). The number of nNOS-positive neurons was 41.6 +/- 5.8 (mean +/- SD) in the control hemisphere. nNOS was upregulated in the ischemic hemisphere (88.3 +/- 18.9), especially in the border zone at 6 hours after MCA occlusion. However, the number decreased to 36.4 +/- 3.6 and 26.3 +/- 7.3 in the ischemic hemisphere after 72 and 168 hours, respectively. eNOS immunoreactivity was present in the endothelium of major vessels at each time point. eNOS was not detected in the microvessels before ischemia, but faint staining was found in the endothelium at 6 hours after MCA occlusion. Immunostaining became more intense thereafter. Faint iNOS immunoreactivity was seen in the microvessels at 6 hours after MCA occlusion. Macrophages in the ischemic core and astrocytes in the border zone showed immunoreactivity to iNOS at 72 and 168 hours after MCA occlusion. Three types of NOS must be related to different stages of ischemic brain damage. nNOS may be neurotoxic in ischemia in the early phase, like iNOS in the late phase. On the other hand, eNOS seemed to be neuroprotective in all stages. These observations suggest the necessity for tailored therapeutic intervention against NOS isoforms at each stage in patients with ischemic stroke.