Anti‐apoptotic and Neuroregenerative Effects of Soluble Protein Fraction of the Epidermal Secretion from the Arabian Gulf Catfish following Sciatic Nerve Crush Injury in Rats

Abstract

Crush injuries (axonotmesis) occur from an acute traumatic compression of the nerve resulting in many different degrees of neural damage. Significant cell death and axon degeneration occur as a result of this damage, leading to permanent functional deficits. Previous clinical trials showed that catfish skin preparations (CSP) have an anti‐inflammatory and healing properties for diabetic foot ulcers, chronic back pain, and other neurological disorders. This study was designed to investigate the anti‐apoptotic effect of soluble protein fraction (SPF)‐Fraction C (FC) derived from CSP on the sciatic nerve crush injury. Assessment of peripheral axonal regeneration recovery and the neuroprotective properties of SPF‐FC on the spinal neurons was done following nerve injury and SPF‐FC treatment. Male Wistar rats (weight 200–250g) were randomly assigned into five groups: (I) SHAM, (II) CRUSH, (III) CRUSH+(1.5mg/kg) SPF‐FC, (IV) CRUSH+(3mg/kg) SPF‐FC, and (V) CRUSH+(4.5mg/kg) SPF‐FC. Rats underwent sciatic nerve crush surgery, followed by treatment with SPF‐FC administered intraperitoneally (IP) for two weeks, and sacrificed at the end of the fourth week. All animals were assessed for sensory and motor neurobehavioral tests throughout the four weeks. Peripheral axonal regeneration was assessed through whole mount staining technique of sciatic nerve using axonal markers (S100, NF, and MBP) and cell proliferation marker (Ki67). The neuroprotective properties of SPF‐FC treatment on the spinal cord neurons were assessed using Cresyl violet staining and immunohistochemistry of NeuN, while the apoptotic pathway was assessed using Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and TUNEL techniques. The results of this study showed that IP administration of different SPF doses significantly (p<0.05–0.001) improved the sensory and motor neurobehavioral functions recovery of the nerve‐injured groups. Visualization of sciatic nerve through whole mount staining revealed significant (p<0.000) increase in the expression levels of axonal regeneration recovery with CRUSH+(4.5mg/kg) SPF‐FC treatment. Moreover, the CRUSH+(4.5mg/kg) SPF‐FC treatments have neuroprotective effects on spinal cord neurons as was shown in Cresyl violet stained sections and NeuN‐immunoreactive neurons. Our results after employing WB, IHC, and TUNEL for the apoptotic pathway revealed that SPF‐FC treatments reduce neuronal cell death resulting from sciatic nerve crush injury. The data suggest that SPF‐FC reduces sensory and motor neurobehavioral deficits and enhances axonal regeneration recovery. Also, SPF‐FC alleviates the apoptotic and neurodegenerative modifications in spinal cord neurons. Therefore, SPF‐FC protects spinal neurons after peripheral nerve injury.Support or Funding InformationThis work was funded by the college of graduate studies, Kuwait university.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.