title: Glycyrrhizin attenuates rat ischemic spinal cord injury by suppressing inflammatory cytokines and HMGB1.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the neuroprotective effect of glycyrrhizin (Gly) against the ischemic injury of rat spinal cord and the possible role of the nuclear protein high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in the process.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 45 min aortic occlusion to induce transient lumbar spinal cord ischemia. The motor functions of the animals were assessed according to the modified Tarlov scale. The animals were sacrificed 72 h after reperfusion and the lumbar spinal cord segment (L2-L4) was taken out for histopathological examination and Western blotting analysis. Serum inflammatory cytokine and HMGB1 levels were analyzed using ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gly (6 mg/kg) administered intravenously 30 min before inducing the transient lumbar spinal cord ischemia significantly improved the hind-limb motor function scores, and reduced the number of apoptotic neurons, which was accompanied by reduced levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the plasma and injured spinal cord. Moreover, the serum HMGB1 level correlated well with the serum TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 levels during the time period of reperfusion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that Gly can attenuate the transient spinal cord ischemic injury in rats via reducing inflammatory cytokines and inhibiting the release of HMGB1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, Chengdu Military Region, China.
authors.forename: Gu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Li-bang
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Jing-li
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Ying-hai
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Le-shun
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D024243:HMGB1 Protein / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D024243:HMGB1 Protein; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid