title: A comparison of hyperbaric oxygen versus hypoxic cerebral preconditioning in neonatal rats.
abstract: The potency of hyperbaric preconditioning (HBO-PC) is uncertain compared to well-validated ischemic or hypoxic models and no studies have directly compared HBO-PC to hypoxic preconditioning (HPC). We subjected rat pups to unilateral carotid cauterization followed by 90 min (min) of hypoxia using 8% O(2). Three HBO-PC regimes (maximum 2.5 atmospheres for 150 min) were compared to HPC (150 min of 8% O(2)) for changes in mortality and brain weight. Preconditioning-induced oxidative stress was assessed using aconitase activity and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) transcript levels. Initial brain weight data revealed a large coefficient of variation and compelled an examination of the temperature sensitivity of the model that revealed a narrow optimal range of 35 to 37 degrees C of variability in brain injury and mortality. With rigorous temperature control, high dose HBO-PC and HPC showed comparable anatomic (mean hemispheric weight decrease: control 42%, HPC 25% (P=0.01), HBO-PC 26% (P=0.01) and mortality protection (control 14.7%, HPC 5.9% HBO-PC 5.7%, P=0.001). High dose HBO-PC, but not HPC, suppressed aconitase activity by 65% at 24 h after the preconditioning stimulus (P=0.001). In contrast, MnSOD mRNA increased 2.5-fold at 24 h after HPC (P=0.007) but not after high dose HBO-PC. Thus, when temperature variability is eliminated, HBO-PC and HPC elicit similar preconditioning efficacy in neonatal brain but invoke different defenses against oxidative stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. freib002@mc.duke.edu
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Freiberger
authors.forename: Hagir B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Suliman
authors.forename: Huaxin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McAdoo
authors.forename: Claude A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Piantadosi
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Warner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology; D003643:Death; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D002534:Hypoxia, Brain / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D019194:Ischemic Preconditioning / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats