Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the effect of eriodictyol on spinal cord injury (SCI) and its underlying mechanism of action.Methods: Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to sham, SCI, and eriodictyol-treated groups (SCI + Eri; 10, 20, and 50 mg/kg). Moderate spinal cord contusion injury was induced to model SCI. Locomotor recovery was assessed based on Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) score. Pain wasevaluated by paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and latency (PWL), and spinal cord water content was measured. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Immunoassay was used to determine malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) levels while Western blotting was employed to evaluate nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), and phosphorylated NF-κB (p-NF-κB) levels.Results: Eriodictyol elevated BBB score, PWT, and PWL in SCI rats but reduced spinal cord water content (p < 0.05). Eriodictyol treatment down-regulated TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and MDA, whereas SOD, GSH, and GSH-PX levels were elevated (p < 0.05). Eriodictyol administration increased Nrf2 and HO-1 levels but reduced p-NF-κB/NF-κB.Conclusion: This study provides a potential therapy to promote long-term functional recovery following SCI.
 Keywords: Spinal cord injury, Eriodictyol, Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, Polymerase chain reaction, Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan score
Highlights
Car accidents and falls frequently cause spinal cord injury (SCI), a devastating and common condition of acute trauma [1]
The SCI group exhibited significantly lower BBB scores than the sham group (p < 0.01), whereas eriodictyol treatment significantly elevated BBB scores compared to the untreated SCI group (p < 0.01) (Figure 1 A)
SCI induction led to a decrease in paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and Paw withdrawal latency (PWL) compared to the sham group (p < 0.01), whereas eriodictyol treatment increased both measures relative to the untreated SCI group (p < 0.01) (Figure 1 B and C)
Summary
Car accidents and falls frequently cause spinal cord injury (SCI), a devastating and common condition of acute trauma [1]. This trauma can impair bowel and bladder function, mobility, and autonomic nerve function and is often accompanied by pressure ulcers and pain that directly damages patient health [2]. The present study demonstrates the protective properties of eriodictyol against SCI in rats and investigates the mechanism underlying its protective effects. At 72 h post-injury, the spinal cord was obtained from the epicenter for water content assessment. Spinal cord samples (15 mg) were homogenized, and proteins were extracted on ice with lysis buffer (Thermo Scientific, Rockford, IL, USA). The cutoff for statistical significance was p < 0.05
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