Abstract

Objective To compare neuroprotective effect of mechanical postconditioning (MP) vs.tacrolimus postconditioning (TP) on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in rats.Methods Forty-five male SD rats were randomly divided into IR group,MP group and TP group.The model of spinal cord ischemia was established by means of catheterization through femoral artery and balloon dilatation.IR group underwent 20-min reperfusion after spinal cord ischemia.MP group received 3 cycles of 30-s reperfusion/30-s ischemia at the onset of reperfusion.TP group experienced a single injection of tacrolimus (0.5 mg/kg) through the left common carotid artery at the onset of reperfusion.Tarlov scale was conducted to evaluate hindlimb motor function,and Western blotting was applied to determine the expression of Caspase-3 in spinal cord at 1st,3rd,and 7th day after reperfusion.Results The motor function scores of both MP and TP groups were significantly higher than those of IR group with 1.75 ±0.23 and 1.62 ±0.41 vs.0.33±0.47 at 1stday,2.670.35 and 2.46±0.33 vs.1.53 ±0.44 at 3rd day,and 3.06±0.27 and 3.09 ±0.22 vs.2.54 ±0.31 at 7th day respectively after reperfusion (P <0.05).There were no significant differences in the motor function scores between MP and TP groups at all observational time points (P > 0.05),though the score in TP group was higher than that in MP group at 7th day after reperfusion.The expression of Caspase-3 in spinal cord of both MP and TP groups was significantly lower than that of IR group with 0.26 ± 0.03 and 0.27 ± 0.02 vs.0.32 ± 0.06 at 1 st day,0.29 ± 0.04 and 0.30 ± 0.07 vs.0.40 ±0.08 at 3rd day,0.28 ±0.07 and 0.28 ±0.03 vs.0.39 ±0.10 at 7th day respectively after reperfusion (P < 0.05).There were no significant differences in the Caspase-3 expression between MP and TP group at all observational time points (P > 0.05).Conclusion Tacrolimus postconditioning possesses neuroprotective effect comparative to classic mechanical postconditioning,and both postconditioning methods can alleviate spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Key words: Spinal cord ischemia; Reperfusion injury; Tacrolimus postconditioning

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