title: Intrathecal administration of endothelin-1 in the rat: impact on spinal cord blood flow and the blood-spinal cord barrier.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the integrity of the blood-spinal cord barrier after intrathecal administration of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the rat spinal cord. A laser Doppler probe was positioned in the exposed subarachnoid space at the T8 vertebral level. In the first experiment, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), a marker of barrier integrity, was given intravenously prior to the intrathecal application of ET-1. Blood flow was then recorded for 3 h, after which the anesthetized animals were euthanized. In the second experiment, animals exposed to endothelin were recovered after confirming a 50% reduction in blood flow. HRP was given 10 min prior to euthanasia at 24 h post infusion. The intensity of staining for HRP was quantified by optical density in fixed sections of spinal cord. There was a significant sustained reduction in spinal cord blood flow and significant barrier breakdown to HRP at both 3 and 24 h after administration of the peptide. Based upon these results we conclude that intrathecal infusion of ET-1 reduces spinal cord blood flow and results in prolonged breakdown of the blood-spinal cord barrier.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Westmark
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Noble
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aihara
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: McKenzie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000187:drug effects*; D016232:Endothelins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply*
chemical_list: D016232:Endothelins; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase