Abstract
Objective To study the roles of ethyl pyruvate (EP) in spinal cord edema after spinal cord injury (SCI) and in spinal cord astrocytic swelling after oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) in vitro in rats. Methods After SCI models were established in adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, an intraperitoneal injection of EP was conducted to inhibit high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1). Effects of EP on spinal cord edema, HMGB1 expression and astrocyte activation (glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression) in SCI rats were analyzed. Spinal cord astrocytes were cultured in post-natal SD rats and incubated under OGD/R procedure. Effects of EP on cell swelling, expression of HMGB1, aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and nuclear expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in spinal cord astrocytes were observed. Results The water content in the spinal cord was increased significantly more at 1 d after SCI than at 12 h and 3 d (P<0.05). Intraperitoneal injection of EP at 50 mg/kg reduced spinal cord water content, HMGB1 expression and astrocyte activation (GFAP expression) in SCI rats significantly more than that at 25 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg (P<0.05). The volume of spinal cord astrocytes cultured in vitro after OGD 6 h/R 24 h was significantly greater than that after OGD 6 h/R 6 h or OGD 6 h/R 12 h (P<0.05). EP at 12 μmol/L reduced cell swelling, decreased expression of HMGB1, AQP4 and TLR4, and downgraded nuclear expression of NF-κB in spinal cord astrocytes after OGD/R significantly more than EP at 6 μmol/L(P<0.05). Conclusion EP may reduce early spinal cord edema after SCI, attenuate spinal cord astrocyte swelling and decrease AQP4 expression after OGD/R in vitro by inhibiting HMGB1 in rats. Key words: Spinal cord injury; Astrocyte; Ethyl pyruvate; High mobility group box-1; Aquaporin-4
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