title: Semi-quantitative analysis of the effects of cyclosporine on remyelination following gliotoxic injection in the brainstem.
abstract: The use of cyclosporine (CsA) has shown to induce an increase in the density of oligodendrocytes near remyelinating areas following the injection of ethidium bromide (EB), a demyelinating agent, in the rat brainstem. This study was designed in order to evaluate if CsA has the capacity of increasing remyelination. In this context, a comparison between the final balance of myelin repair in CsA treated and non-treated rats was assessed using a semi-quantitative method developed for documenting the extent and nature of remyelination in gliotoxic lesions. Wistar rats were submitted to intracisternal injection of 10 microliters of 0.1% EB. Some were treated during 31 days with CsA (group III--10 mg/kg/day by 7 days and, thereafter, 3 times a week, with a minimal interval of 48 hours) by intraperitonial route. Others were not treated with CsA (group I). A control group was planned receiving into the cisterna pontis 10 microliters of 0.9% saline solution and following after that the same CsA administration protocol (group II). Results clearly demonstrate that in vivo administration of CsA after EB-demyelinating lesions stimulated oligodendrocyte remyelination (mean remyelination scores of 3.72±0.25 for oligodendrocytes and 1.04±0.39 for Schwann cells) compared to non-treated animals (3.13±0.71 and 1.31±0.62, respectively), although the mechanisms by which this positive CsA effect occurs are unclear.
authors.affiliation: University Paulista, São Paulo SP, Brazil. bondan@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Eduardo Fernandes
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Bondan
authors.forename: Maria de Fátima Monteiro
authors.initials: Mde F
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Alexandre Moraes Castelo
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Branco
authors.forename: Maria Anete
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lallo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000187:drug effects; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004996:Ethidium; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine; D004996:Ethidium