title: Effects of erythropoietin on STAT1 and STAT3 levels following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury can activate signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT). STAT1 initiates neuronal apoptosis following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, while STAT3 is neuroprotective. Erythropoietin (EPO) promotes regeneration through STAT3 and facilitates neuronal survival following ischemia. However, there are few reports on the effects of EPO on phosphorylated STAT1 (P-STAT1) level following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats, and there is no evidence on the simultaneous observation of the four kinds of protein:STAT1, P-STAT1, STAT3, and P-STAT3.
  
  
  METHODS
  We established a rat focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model, and used Western blot and immunohistochemical staining to assess the levels of STAT1 and STAT3 expression, and TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) was carried out to observe the number of apoptotic cells with or without EPO treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our findings show that EPO treatment had no significant effect on STAT1 and STAT3 expression, but P-STAT1 and P-STAT3 were slightly decreased and significantly increased, respectively, after EPO treatment. Neurologic deficits, the infarct volume, and the number of apoptotic cells were significantly decreased after EPO treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that EPO exerts a neuroprotective effect by influencing STAT3 and STAT1 expression in the area injured by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Radiology, Wuxi No. 2 People's Hospital , Wuxi, Jiangsu Province , P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chunjuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Haiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Zhuiyang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wenjuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D015153:Blotting, Western; D000068817:Epoetin Alfa; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006397:Hematinics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism*; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D006397:Hematinics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; D004921:Erythropoietin; D000068817:Epoetin Alfa