Inductions of 3-L-nitrotyrosine in motor neurons after transient spinal cord ischemia in rabbits.
The induction and distribution of 3-L-nitrotyrosine (NO2-Tyr) were examined with HPLC and immunohistochemistry in rabbit spinal cords after 15 minutes of transient ischemia until 7 days of the reperfusion. After the 15-minute ischemia, there was a significant decrease of neurologic scores in the ischemic group compared with the sham-operated control group at 7 days of reperfusion (P = 0.0017), and the majority of motor neurons was selectively lost at 7 days of reperfusion (P = 0.0039). NO2-Tyr was transiently induced at 8 hours of reperfusion in the ventral part of the spinal cord (0.47%+/-0.86%, NO2-Tyr/total tyrosine; P = 0.0021), but was not induced at any time point of reperfusion in the dorsal part of the spinal cord. Strong immunoreactivity for NO2-Tyr was selectively induced in large pyramidal motor neurons at 8 hours of reperfusion and was still weakly present until 7 days of reperfusion. (There may be a difference in sensitivity between the two techniques.) These results suggested that protein tyrosine nitration by nitric oxide plays a role in the selective motor neuron cell damage after transient spinal cord ischemia.
Sakurai
M
M
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Fukuyama
N
N
Takizawa
S
S
Abe
K
K
Hayashi
T
T
Shinohara
Y
Y
Nakazawa
H
H
Tabayashi
K
K
D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007511:Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D012016:Reference Values; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
C002744:3-nitrotyrosine; D014443:Tyrosine