Effects of dexamethasone combined with estrogen on the
expression of interleukin-6, Caspase3 and Bcl-2 after spinal cord contusion in
rats

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2095-4344.2591

Abstract

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The clinical use of drugs alone can well block specific pathological changes after spinal cord injury, but single medications often result in complicated adverse reactions. For example, estrogen can alleviate apoptosis caused by oxidative damage, but it can also activate inflammation. Therefore, the combined use of drugs has become a clinical treatment trend, and the mechanism of combined use is urgently needed to be clarified.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic effect of dexamethasone combined with estrogen treatment on the expression of interleukin-6, Caspase3 and Bcl-2 in rats post spinal cord contusion.

METHODS: Forty-eight female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 4 weeks were randomly assigned to the following groups (n=12 per group): sham surgery group, normal saline group, dexamethasone group, combined treatment (dexamethasone and estrogen) group. The spinal cord contusion model was established by modified Allen’s method in all groups except for the sham surgery group. Rats in the sham surgery group and normal saline group were injected normal saline (0.2 mL/kg) at the lateral thigh muscle, those in the dexamethasone group were given dexamethasone (0.2 mg/kg), and those in the combined treatment group were treated with estrogen (0.04 mg/kg) and dexamethasone (0.2 mg/kg) at 30 minutes, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days post-operation. Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scoring was applied to evaluate the hindlimb motor functional recovery within 14 days post-operation. Expression of interleukin-6, Bcl-2 and Caspase3 was detected using immunohistochemistry at 3, 7, and 21 days post-operation.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The motor function of combined treatment group recovered earlier than that of dexamethasone group and normal saline group. Furthermore, during the whole recovery period, the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scores in the combined treatment group were significantly higher than those in the dexamethasone group (P < 0.05). The immunohistochemical results also indicated that the expression of interleukin-6 and Casepase3 in the combined treatment group was significantly lower than that in the dexamethasone group, and the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly increased in the recovery period (P < 0.05). To conclude, the combined treatment of dexamethasone and estrogen can effectively reduce the expression of proapoptotic factor Caspase3 and proinflammatory factor interleukin-6, and increase anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 to further promote functional recovery in rats after spinal cord contusion by impeding apoptosis and inflammation.

Key words: spinal cord injury, dexamethasone, estrogen, interleukin-6, Caspase3, Bcl-2

CLC Number:

Li Qinxuan, Wang Yizhi, Xu Yan, Zhang Huayang, Lü Qixuan, Zhang Cheng, He Zhengyun, Zhang Xiao, Yang Zheng.

Effects of dexamethasone combined with estrogen on the expression of interleukin-6, Caspase3 and Bcl-2 after spinal cord contusion in rats [J]. Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research, 2020, 24(17): 2680-2685.

Figures/Tables 6

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