title: Ketogenic diet reduces cytochrome c release and cellular apoptosis following traumatic brain injury in juvenile rats.
abstract: Ketone bodies have been shown to be favorable alternative metabolic substrates and are protective under neuropathologies. At the same time, cytochrome c release has been reported following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and precipitates apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway. The present study investigated the effects of a ketogenic diet (KD) on TBI. TBI was produced using the Feeney weight-drop model and the animals were fed either normal diet (ND) or KD. Brain edema was estimated by wet/dry weight ratio; cytochrome c was detected by Western blotting; cellular apoptosis in the penumbra area was examined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and active caspase-3 immunohistochemical staining. The results show that brain edema, cytochrome c release, and cellular apoptosis were induced after TBI and that KD reduced these changes dramatically. These findings suggest that KD has potential therapeutic benefit in TBI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Zhi Gang
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Han Dong
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Hong Xia
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001786:Blood Glucose; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000378:metabolism*; D055423:Diet, Ketogenic; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D015151:Immunoblotting; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D014867:Water; D045304:Cytochromes c; D053148:Caspase 3; D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid