Resveratrol Glycosides Impede Microglial Apoptosis and Oxidative Stress in Rats for Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) usually occurs after severe trauma, which can lead to detrimental and unpredictable secondary diseases, including dyskinesia, paraplegia and even quadriplegia, resulting in seriously reduced quality of life among these patients. Oxidative damage is one of the major pathogenic factors of SCI. Resveratrol biologically exerts a significant antioxidant activity by increasing the levels of antioxidants and sequentially scavenging free radicals, so as to protect multiple organs from damage. This study investigates whether resveratrol can function as a protective mediator in SCI and the underlying mechanisms, aiming to provide a theoretical hint for the treatment of SCI. After establishment of SCI model in rats, serial doses of resveratrol were administrated. Afterwards, the therapeutic effects of resveratrol glycosides were evaluated by analyzing the motor function, spinal cord edema, cellular apoptosis and oxidative reaction in rats. Eventually, the potential mechanisms of resveratrol glycosides were studied via Western blotting. Our results showed that the pro-apoptosis proteins were highly expressed in the spinal cord tissue of rats after SCI. In comparison with healthy rats, those with SCI exhibited significant widespread dead neurons, glial cell apoptosis, oxidative stress and more serious functional defects. Nevertheless, resveratrol glycosides can ameliorate oxidative stress, inhibit the apoptosis of glial cells and neuronal death after SCI. Importantly, it can induce the activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 signal transduction pathway that mediated the alleviation of SCI in rats. Resveratrol can improve motor dysfunction after SCI, which may be a result of its anti-oxidation and anti-apoptotic effects via modulating the Nrf2 signal transduction pathway of microglia, which provides a new idea for the treatment of SCI.