title: The neuroprotective effect of recombinant human erythropoietin via an antiapoptotic mechanism on hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in neonatal rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The neuroprotective effects of erythropoietin (EPO) have been recently shown in many animal models of brain injury, including hypoxic-ischemic (HI) encephalopathy, trauma, and excitotoxicity; however, limited data are available for such effects during the neonatal periods. Therefore, we investigated whether recombinant human EPO (rHuEPO) can protect against perinatal HI brain injury via an antiapoptotic mechanism.
  
  
  METHODS
  The left carotid artery was ligated in 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat pups (in vivo model). The animals were divided into 6 groups: normoxia control (NC), normoxia sham-operated (NS), hypoxia only (H), hypoxia+vehicle (HV), hypoxia+rHuEPO before a hypoxic insult (HE-B), and hypoxia+rHuEPO after a hypoxic insult (HE-A). Embryonic cortical neuronal cell culture of SD rats at 18 days gestation (in vitro model) was performed. The cultured cells were divided into 5 groups: normoxia (N), hypoxia (H), and 1, 10, and 100 IU/mL rHuEPO-treated groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the in vivo model, Bcl-2 expressions in the H and HV groups were lower than those in the NC and NS groups, whereas those in the HE-A and HE-B groups were greater than those of the H and HV groups. The expressions of Bax and caspase-3 and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 were in contrast to those of Bcl-2. In the in vitro model, the patterns of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 expression and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were similar to the results obtained in the in vivo model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  rHuEPO exerts neuroprotective effect against perinatal HI brain injury via an antiapoptotic mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Moon Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yoo Kyung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Hye Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kye Hyang
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyung Hoon
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eun Jin
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Jin Kyung
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hai Lee
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Woo Taek
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Kim