title: Phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 predominantly enhanced in the microglia of the rat spinal cord following lipopolysaccharide injection.
abstract: The present study was initiated to investigate the role of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2 signaling pathway in the early response of spinal cord to systemic inflammation by using Western blotting and immunohistochemical techniques in a rat model intraperitoneally injected with 10 mg/kg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The results showed that there was a considerable amount of phosphorylated ERK 1/2 protein in the spinal cord of inflamed animals killed under pentobarbital anesthesia. The result of Western blotting showed that the phosphorylation level of ERK 1/2 in the spinal cord was increased at one hour; then 12 and 24 h after LPS injection the level decreased, while the total ERK 1/2 level seemed unchanged. The phosphorylated ERK 1/2 dominantly existed in the microglia cells of the gray matter of spinal cord, as demonstrated with double immunofluorescent staining 1 h after LPS injection. Collectively, the present results suggest that ERK signal pathway involve the cellular activation in the spinal cord following systemic inflammation, with ERK mainly in microglia. The increase of phosphorylation of ERK 1/2 in microglia of spinal cord after LPS injection implicates that ERK signaling pathway involves intracellular activity of microglia responding to the inflammation.
authors.affiliation: The Jiangsu Province Key Lab of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Youhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Hai-Ou
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Linlin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yonghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Aiguo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D008297:Male; D017628:Microglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3