title: Additive effect of NOS inhibitor and neurotrophic factors on the survival of injured Clarke's neurons.
abstract: The present study examined the effect of treatment with the NOS inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) together with peripheral nerve (PN) graft or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on the survival of CN neurons at the L1 level of the spinal cord following hemisection at T11. In control animals 41% of CN neurons survived 15 days after the hemisection, and 48% of these expressed NOS. Treatment with either PN graft implantation or continuous infusion of BDNF increased the survival rate of CN neurons to 70%; 70% of these expressed NOS. Combined L-NAME and PN graft or L-NAME and BDNF improved the rescue rate up to 94%, but only approximately 33% expressed NOS. Our results suggest that the expression of NOS might adversely influence the neuroprotective function of neurotrophic factors on injured CN neurons in the spinal cord.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: L W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Yick
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: So
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester