Ultraviolet blood irradiation and oxygenation affects free radicals and antioxidase after rabbit spinal cord injury.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of ultraviolet blood irradiation and oxygenation (UBIO) on free radicals and antioxidase after spinal cord injury in rabbits.


METHODS
Totally, 186 rabbits were used and divided randomly into four experimental groups: control (n = 6), blood transfusion (n = 24), injured (n = 96) and treatment (n = 60) groups. The relative intensity of free radical (FR) signals, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, as well as the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were compared among the four groups at 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours and 6 days after injury.


RESULTS
The relative intensity of FR signals in spinal cord tissue in the injured group increased at 48 hours and showed a striking difference compared with the control group; in the treatment group, it decreased and showed a striking difference compared with the injured group. MDA content in blood in the injured group increased and showed a striking difference at 6, 24 and 48 hours and showed a significant difference at 72 hours and 6 days after injury compared with the control group. In the treatment group, MDA content in blood decreased and showed a significant difference at 48 hours compared with the injured group. MDA content in spinal cord tissue increased in the injured group and showed a striking difference compared with the control group; in the treatment group, it decreased and showed a striking difference compared with the injured group at the corresponding times. The activity of SOD in blood and spinal cord tissue decreased in the injured group and showed a striking difference compared with the control group; in the treatment group, it increased and showed a striking difference compared with the injured group at the corresponding times. The changes in activity of GSH-PX in blood and spinal cord tissue were similar to that in SOD. No significant difference was observed between the blood transfusion and control groups.


CONCLUSIONS
UBIO can ease free radical damages and elevate the activity of antioxidases after spinal cord injury in rabbits.
Dong
Y
Y
School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.
Shou
T
T
Zhou
Y
Y
Jiang
S
S
Hua
X
X
D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005609:Free Radicals; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood*; D011817:Rabbits; D011897:Random Allocation; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000201:enzymology*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D005609:Free Radicals; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D010100:Oxygen