title: Effects of progesterone on intestinal inflammatory response and mucosa structure alterations following SAH in male rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) can induce a persistent inflammatory response, histopathologic changes in the gut. This study investigated whether progesterone administration modulates intestinal proinflammatory cytokine expression and structure alternations following SAH in male rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 48 male rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (n = 12), SAH group (n = 12), SAH+vehicle group (n = 12) and SAH+progesterone group (n = 12). We measured intestinal wet/dry weight ratio; the concentrations of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; intestinal mucosal morphologic changes by histopathologic study and electron microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Administration of progesterone following SAH could increase the appetite scores of SAH rats and decrease concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines and wet/dry weight ratio in the gut. SAH-induced damage of gut structure was ameliorated after progesterone supplementation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study suggest that the therapeutic benefit of post-SAH progesterone supplementation might be due to its inhibitory effects on intestinal proinflammatory cytokine expression and gut structure amelioration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Wuxi Second Hospital Affiliated Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. zhaoxudong623@yahoo.cn
authors.forename: Xu-dong
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yi-ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004751:Enteritis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011372:Progestins / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D015850:Interleukin-6; D011372:Progestins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D011374:Progesterone